A Distance There Is
by UchihanoChidori
Summary: Sequel to 'The Longest Line'. When everything goes well, something has to go wrong, and Naruto and Sasuke's relationship is no exception. Sasuke's seal is more trouble than it looks, and sometimes, choices must be made for the right path to be taken. MPREG.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters from Naruto, nor do I make any money from the writing of this story.

**Pairings: **Naruto/Sasuke, Sasuke/Neji, Naruto/Gaara, Sasuke/OC and others.

**Warnings: **Violence, foul language, Yaoi, Mpreg. Don't like, don't read.

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**A/N: **And here it is - the first part of "The Longest Line" sequel! Go read the first part if you haven't already or you won't understand the story at all.

It took a while for me to get excited about it, though, but I really want to finish this, and I will :D

I'm stubborn like that sometimes.

I hope you guys can enjoy it as much as you did "TLL".

This prologue served for you guys to see how the seal works, sort of. The first chapter will be coming out soon with some Sasuke/Naruto goodness.

This is Un'beta'd.

Let me know what you think, yes?

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**Prologue**

Few were the moments in his life when Neji truly considered himself unfortunate. Someone like him – respected, powerful, focused, successful, and good-looking – could never feel sorry for the kind of life he led. Of course he had worked his ass off, poured his pride, anger, blood and sweat along the way to be who he was and achieve the kind of recognition he had, especially among his own kind. But none of that mattered now, because he was who he was – someone stronger in every way possible – and a better person altogether.

He had long since learned that even though hatred and bitterness could be precious triggers on the way to greatness, they didn't help at all on the way to happiness and inner peace.

Yes, Neji considered himself a better person at 20 than he was at thirteen. His self-control was exquisite and he was much more comprehensive now, more objective and less judgmental than before. He was also sure that his renewed sense of patience should win some sort of award.

He was a good person. He really was, and he strongly believed it; took pride in it, too.

However, sometimes, being the good guy would almost manage make him feel miserable, if that was something he ever allowed himself to feel.

Six months after Sasuke had broken up with him to start dating his loud, orange friend, the Hyuuga still claimed to the seven winds that he was more than fine, and that he had he had already forgiven and forgotten everything, reason as to why he was still friends with the both of them.

In a way, it was true. Sasuke was his subordinate, after all. He had to deal with him whether he liked it or not – not that he disliked it, really, and he tried the best he could to keep his promise of being good friends with the Uchiha and respect the fact that they weren't dating anymore.

Neji definitely thought he was far too nice and far too considerate. Maybe that maturity he thought he possessed turned him into a real fool. Whatever it was, there was nothing he could do to fight it, because he still had feelings for Sasuke.

There was no use in trying to deny it. No matter what he did or who he slept with, no one compared to him. No matter how many times he tried to see him as nothing but a precious person who had hurt him, Sasuke would always be Sasuke. Falling out of love was no easy task, especially for someone who had never been in love before that.

For that, he was very unfortunate, because no amount of intelligence could find a way to stop his heart from desiring someone who loved someone else.

To make matters worse, the Hokage had forced him to be involved in what he called 'The Adventures of Sasuke's Mysterious Seal'.

After Sasuke had been subjected to a series of inconclusive exams that showed nothing more than what they already knew – that the seal appeared in the presence of raw chakra and that it absorbed it – Tsunade had refused to give in to the Uchiha's demand of calling the priestess back to Konoha to remove it. It was a dangerous move, she said, to accuse the girl of something seemingly harmless when Sasuke himself had refused her marriage offer.

Neji had come to know all about it because the busty woman had decided that it would be wise to have someone checking up on the seal once in a while to see if something changed and who better than him, a Hyuuga, with the Byakugan, to do it?

He was aware that Sakura was handling the medical part of it, but worried and suspicious as she felt towards the seal, she never really found anything worthy of care.

So, now, he was forced to take a look at the damned thing every three weeks or so, and write a report on it for her and the Hokage to read.

How fascinating Neji's life had become, he mused bitterly, letting out a sigh and activating his Byakugan, feeling the veins in his temples thicken and pulse powerfully as his vision became bi-dimensional.

In a way, he was glad that he had been involved in this because something about the seal felt off.

His dark wooden porch was located in the back of his house, adorned by a small, well-tended _Zen_ garden. The mild afternoon sun brightened the colors of the new spring flowers that were still blooming as sweet, floral scents filled the air all. The breeze was soft and a little chilly, but it wasn't exactly cold.

Sasuke was lying on the floor with one of his arms behind his head, legs stretched out in a relaxed demeanor as his other hand pushed up his light grey sweater, revealing his pale, toned abs.

Neji was kneeling down at his left, facing the garden, his back very straight, each hand placed over each one of his thighs in an almost ritualistic pose. He was pretty much aware of Sasuke's onyx eyes fixed on him attentively, but he wouldn't allow himself to lose his focus – although it was rather difficult with Sasuke looking so nonchalantly gorgeous. The fact that his skin was at hand's reach didn't really help either.

Instead, he inhaled deeply through his nose and scrutinized Sasuke's belly.

As he had feared, the seal had been transmogrifying. It wasn't something new to Neij, who had noticed two months previously that after absorbing chakra, the seal seemed to form what looked like tiny sphere-like recipients of chakra that glued themselves to Sasuke's organs. It wasn't something visible to the naked eye, but Neji had been able to see it.

Lately, though, he had noticed that those spheres seemed to be slowly fusing together to form a larger one that resembled a small second liver. To make things even more suspicious, something akin to various energy strings were, from day to day, one by one, emerging from the recipient, connecting to Sasuke's chakra channels and becoming a part of it.

Tsunade-sama held onto the theory that the seal was creating some sort of chakra reserve inside of Sasuke's body. Sasuke thought that the fact that he now absorbed chakra was actually kind of useful when he was fighting a hand to hand battle with the enemy – it took longer for him to get tired while it was faster for the enemy to feel fatigued – but that didn't mean he felt like leaning back and getting accustomed to it.

If indeed the seal was creating a way for Sasuke's body to store extra chakra inside him, then that would mean that he would probably have at least 40% more resistance than any normal human being had. It was a smart, well-structured seal that offered something every Shinobi would want to possess.

What bugged Neji, though, was the fact that he found no reason as to why the priestess would actually give something like that to Sasuke.

But something was wrong, different than what he had seen the last time, and definitely unexpected – the chakra in Sasuke's body wasn't just the usual clear blue anymore, because a few, almost imperceptible flecks of light red made their way alongside it.

Neji's eyebrows shot up.

_What the hell?_

"Notice anything different?" Sasuke's low voice asked, waking Neji from his confused and apprehensive state.

Neji's clear eyes moved to Sasuke's handsome face with seriousness. He was thankful that the Hokage hadn't taken up on Sakura's suggestion of hiding the important details from Sasuke, otherwise things would be harder to explain.

Still, he could almost guess where the red chakra came from.

"Yes," He said, nodding gravely. "It has been doing the same it did the last time I checked, but it's still gaining shape. I don't know when it'll reach its final form, though, but it can't be long. Only then will we get to see it function properly and maybe reach a consistent conclusion. "

Sasuke blinked up at him, eyes narrowing so much he looked like a suspicious cat.

"Tell me what you see." He asked, calmly.

The long-haired male heaved a sigh, dropping his eyes from Sasuke's to the place he needed to observe.

"There is a larger chakra recipient here," He said, raising his left hand and running his index finger lightly around Sasuke's belly button. Since he was using the Byakugan, his chakra signature was present everywhere, radiating with a soft and almost ethereal glow in his skin, pouring gently from his pores, which immediately caused the seal to react. Quickly, as if painted in black ink by an invisible hand, the intricate patterns formed over the navel. "It's not very big, I can assure you. But there are still smaller chakra spots all around here, all in the same area. Also…"

The sudden activation of the seal's powers cut Neji's words as a strong pull of his energy made his hand shake and a tingling feeling crawl up his arm like a shock of electricity, and he found himself with his breath stuck in his lungs. The feeling wasn't exactly unknown to him, but he couldn't seem to get used to it.

The seal sucked his chakra out slowly but consistently. It felt similar to bleeding heavily from a deep wound, minus the pain, but it made his muscles tremble and something like adrenaline pump into his veins as the chakra floated from him into Sasuke's body.

Neji suspected that it would take about an hour of full contact in chakra use for a person to be completely drained of life, and that made Neji a little self-conscious with fear and simultaneous desire to test his own abilities.

He would never admit it, but the feeling provided a certain rush, especially because it was sort of intimate in distorted way.

Sasuke watched him in silence, shifting a bit as if his body felt uncomfortable with the gesture, clearly trying to understand what the look in his captain face meant. Neji licked his dried lips but didn't remove the hand, forcing himself to breathe out.

"Also, you have red chakra flowing alongside your regular chakra," He proceeded, as composedly as he could. "The fact that the small marbles of chakra are fusing together into a bigger one that seems to be constantly growing is not something I hadn't expected. I assume we'll only have one single chakra recipient soon. However, this red chakra…"

He moved his shaky hand once more and placed the palm flat over Sasuke's stomach, feeling the soft but firm skin underneath it, relishing in the feeling of being so shamelessly connected to his former lover, even if the contact was more spiritual that physical.

Neji pressed his lips together in a thin line, a sharp pang of longing and awareness taking over him.

"Neji?" Sasuke called out in a slightly cold voice that came out a little raspy, and grabbed for Neji's wrist, causing the older one to shiver and snap his head up to look at him with in surprise. "You're being too direct. Your hand is too hot, you'll make me feel sick, so either deactivate the Byakugan or stop touching me."

Neji swallowed hard and nodded. The only reason as to why he didn't snatch his hand away from Sasuke's contact was because he had no intention of displaying his feelings openly for the Uchiha to see.

So when Sasuke's fingers loosened around his wrist, he carefully and slowly removed his hand and placed it confidently over his lap once more with as much dignity as he could muster. It still shook, but he realized he missed the contact all the same.

The Byakugan retreated and the veins in his temples shrunk back to their normal sizes. In silence, Neji watched the dark seal fade away.

"You can cover yourself again." He said calmly. Sasuke took a moment to react, eyeing him impassively before sitting with his legs crossed and pulling his sweater down.

"You were going to say something about the red chakra." Sasuke reminded him passively, running his fingers through the spikes in the back of his head. Absently, Neji appreciated just how blue its highlights became under the spring sun.

The Hyuuga bit his lip and looked straight into Sasuke's eyes, somehow not really feeling like having that kind of conversation with him. Maybe he could just mention it in the report and Sakura or Tunade-Sama could tell him about it.

But no, _he_ had to do it. He had no reason not to and if he didn't, that would be admitting his weakness.

"How often do you and Naruto have sex?" He asked, in a simple tone that still sounded too damned bitter to his ears.

Sasuke's eyebrows quirked upwards.

"Is that a tricky question?" He asked, offering his captain a careful smirk.

"I have no interest in your sex life, if that's what you're insinuating." Neji retorted, coolly. Sasuke shrugged elegantly and leaned backwards, hands resting on the porch floor behind him to support his weight. He seemed relatively relaxed in spite of Neji's obvious concern, and the taller of the two couldn't help but to be reminded of those times when Sasuke used to spend their joined days off in his house. They would hang out like that – except Neji would probably be molesting him by now – just enjoying the weather together and later they would have dinner, watch TV, maybe spar for a while in the Dojo and then just get down and dirty somewhere and traumatize the servants for life.

For some reason, Sasuke's smile became mischievous at that precise moment, probably realizing Neji's thoughts.

"Pervert." He teased, and Neji rolled his eyes.

"I'm trying to be professional here, so just answer the damn question." He hissed, frowning.

Sasuke made a slight, thoughtful pout that could be rather endearing if he didn't look so temptingly indecent in Neji's eyes.

"I don't really keep track of that," He ended up saying, with an elegant shrug. "It depends, I guess. Six times a week; maybe more if we're not too busy."

"Do you wear condom?"

"Sometimes," Sasuke muttered, smile faltering as he turned his eyes away looked at the garden. "What's with all the questions?"

Inhaling deeply, Neji closed his hands into fists.

"Well, I'm asking because I suspect that red in your chakra channels may be caused by Naruto," He explained, forcing himself to be patient and, as always, standoffishly professional. "He's the person that is physically closer to you. I don't know how balanced his chakra is, so I assume you might be absorbing it at some point, especially if the two of you do it while he is in use of raw chakra."

Sasuke snorted, letting Neji know what he needed to know.

"It's normal to have…fetishes," The brown haired male said, forcing his voice to stay natural and calm. "But it's not safe at this point, when we have no idea what kind of effect the Kyuubi's chakra may have on your body. All I'm saying is that you should be careful, Sasuke. Wear protection, avoid doing it eccentrically, or even in situations where you know that his chakra signature is particularly strong. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"I understand, Neji, I'm not stupid." Sasuke snapped, turning his head to him with an unpleased expression.

"You don't have to be stupid to be reckless," Neji countered, with equal distaste. "You just have to be horny and hopelessly in love."

He hadn't meant to sound disgusted and resentful, but he did anyway, and Sasuke noticed it because he huffed, blushing violently and throwing Neji a look that held hurt and embarrassment.

"If that's all for today's appointment, then I'll be on my way." The raven hissed, promptly getting up and patting the dust off his jeans brusquely.

Neji watched him, heart beating faster and internally scolding himself for still not being able to control his impetuousness properly.

"Sasuke," He called out, getting up just as his friend turned to him and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What?" He snapped, just as Neji straightened up. "I heard your advice already."

"I know you did," Neji nodded hesitantly. "I didn't mean to sound like that, I just…"

"You just what?" Sasuke drawled, menacingly.

"I…" Neji swallowed hard, fists clenched at his sides. "I'm worried about you. This seal…Sasuke, there's something wrong with it and you have to be careful. I'm not saying Naruto is a threat or anything of the sort, I'm just telling you that you, and him, have to take it slow until we figure out what's going on."

Sasuke's shoulders tensed, but his features relaxed.

"It's been six months." He whispered, dark eyes boring holes into Neji's clear ones.

"I know, and I'm working on it," Neji assented, finding it hard to look away. "I guess I assumed it would've ended by now."

"Right."

"I still get pissed sometimes."

"I can tell."

They stood in front of each other, looking at each other, and Neji couldn't help but feel slightly guilty because, in a way, he had been hoping that, indeed, Sasuke and Naruto might've broken up by now. But they were standing their ground – that shook once in a while –, stronger than ever together.

He respected it, admired it even, but he still felt envious, which sometimes caused him and Sasuke to fight in the most unexpected moments. If he were to be honest with himself, Neji was good at being 'the friend', but sucked at processing the fact that there was nothing else to it than that anymore.

His mind knew it, but his heart was taking longer than necessary to understand that Sasuke and Naruto were proving to be a sure thing.

"Don't go yet," Neji said, in an almost pleading way, but not quite, because that would be humiliating, and he didn't need to feel more exposed than he already did. "Let's have a drink or something before you have to go pick him up."

Sasuke seemed thoughtful for a while, evaluating the taller man with his dark, clever eyes that always felt like they were stripping him down from head to toe.

Neji had to control the shiver that was threatening to run down his spine.

"Fine," Sasuke ended up agreeing, shoulders slumping in a sign that he felt at ease once more. "But don't ever use that tone to talk about me and him again, alright?"

"I can't help it." Neji admitted.

"Well, I can't stand it."

"I can't stand that you're in love with him," Neji retorted, making a face. "Shouldn't that make us even?"

Sasuke actually considered him for a few seconds in disbelief. Then, he huffed once more, raising his hands in defeat.

"Whatever," He hissed, teeth clenched, shoving his hands inside his pockets. "You better have _Sake_. I won't have anything else if I am forced to take your shit through the rest of the afternoon."

"I asked you to stay, but you don't have to." The Hyuuga pointed out, a very small, dry smile forming in his lips as Sasuke began to walk away from him, very sure of where he was headed.

"Fuck you, you manipulative bastard." Sasuke threw, over his shoulder.

Neji sighed, once more, feeling tired and disturbed, but somewhat relieved that his former lover was staying with him in spite of everything.

"Let's hope I can manipulate you into not fucking on the ceiling or some weird place like that." He muttered, composing his clothes and following the raven.


	2. Chapter One: That Hopeless Place

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or its characters. I make no money from the writing of this story

**A/N: **Finally, chapter one is out! I'm so sorry for the delay, but it's what happens when you have three on-going stories.

I wanted to focus a bit on Sasuke and Naruto's relationship before launching for the actual plot and all the drama, so this happened. I missed these two dearly and all the sap that comes with them. My babies! *pats their heads adoringly*

There's no Neji here because…well, if you know what happened recently in the manga, you'll understand why I'm having a hard time finding the will to write him.

Also, I have the need to repeat that **this story is the sequel of "The Longest Line".** If you haven't read it, go read it before reading this one.

I forgot to mention, I have used my youtube account to make a playlist of songs that have inspired my fics. Check it out if you want, the link's on my profile page. The playlists will be updated once in a while. The songs for TLL and this one are on the "Inspiration" playlist.

I hope you all like the chapter! Thank you for the faves and to those who reviewed, I hope everyone available got my replies.

Un-beta'd and un-edited. It's 2:20am; I'm about to pass out, so forgive me the mistakes.

Read, review, and have fun!

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**Chapter One: That Hopeless Place**

Being on a double date with his lover, his lover's ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend really wasn't what Sasuke could call a well spent day off. If he was to be honest with himself, he had to admit that he was even feeling a bit pissed off considering he and Naruto were rarely fortunate enough to have a single joined day off a month; but the moron just had to let it go to waste. He couldn't say 'no' to Hinata's sweet voice and nervous demeanor, always taking the part of the big brother, willing to help in every way possible.

It didn't make Sasuke jealous, no. After all, Naruto had broken up with Hinata to be with _him_ and all that, it was just that, sometimes, that Good Samaritan's side of him was really inconvenient; but the Uchiha had long since given up on trying beating some sense into Naruto's head, because no matter how much they both had changed since they got together, some things were proving to be immutable, and Naruto's oblivion was one of them.

Not that Sasuke cared, but apparently Kiba and Hinata had finally hooked up recently and Naruto was all for offering his support and helping a blushing Hinata to accept that the dog breath was a good partner.

The girl might look all innocent and naïve, but she was no longer a virgin, and Sasuke thought that it was extremely improper to ask his Ex – a person she had been in love with for most of her life and probably still was – for advice.

If Naruto wasn't so naturally stupid, Sasuke might've felt seriously annoyed, but instead, he just allowed that bit of anger to boil inside his chest without so much as a grunt.

He hated dates, and most of all, double dates. He didn't mind going to those little meetings Ino liked to arrange with all the Rookie Nine, but being in the same place with Naruto alone with another couple was just horrifying – he always felt like they were so very different from all the other couples. Well, of course they were – Sasuke and Naruto were both male – but it was like all the other relationships seemed ridiculous and savour-less when compared to theirs. They all lacked something, but Sasuke couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

He wouldn't say that his relationship with Naruto was special in any way. They kissed, had sex, spent time together, slept at each other's houses, argued and bickered, laughed like all the other couples did. There was nothing all that different about _them_, and yet, when he looked at Kiba and Hinata, no matter how good they looked together, they just seemed boring and Sasuke didn't want to deal with it. He hated Hinata's fragile appearance and Kiba's unusual caring and careful gestures towards her. It wasn't like the mutt at all, and it was very disturbing for Sasuke to see him acting like a fool because of the girl.

Was that even love? Wasn't love supposed to mean trust, passion and freedom of actions and feelings towards another person? Why was Hinata so infuriatingly shy and twitchy?

Sasuke knew first hand that being in a relationship – being _in love_ – was enough to change everything about a person's ideals. Even if he had started to see things in a whole new perspective when with Neji, with Naruto it was as if his world had been turned upside down. Sure, his goals were basically the same, but the details were carved differently, as were the means that would eventually reach their final purpose. He was now a different person towards Naruto, he believed, yet his original personality was still there, but he couldn't remember ever having giggled or drooled all over him, even at the start.

Then again, what did he know about straight couples, anyway?

Maybe it was just him who was ignorant towards that whole courting thing. With Neji, they hadn't exactly wasted time flirting with each other, things had just burst to life from one minute to the other, and with Naruto, every punch they had ever shared, every insult, every touch, every positive or negative emotion had always felt right and normal from the very beginning.

Sasuke didn't know what it meant to go slow and to be hesitant towards a lover, so he didn't understand Hinata and Kiba. He suspected Naruto had known what it felt like when he dated her, thus his feelings of sympathy.

Did being straightforward turn him into some sort of a slut? Did he wish he and Naruto (or Neji) had had the chance to live that awkward period of fear and experimentation most teenagers seemed so keen on? No. He was a man, he had _needs_. He wasn't even sure how he had possessed the willpower to keep a certain distance when he and Naruto had started to become more intimate. In spite of everything that had happened between them back then, that particular aspect made Sasuke realize that his feelings for Naruto had always been something special.

But those bitter details were in the past now, Sasuke thought to himself with a grimace, watching Kiba talk with a big grin on his face without really listening to him. Naruto's hand searched his under the table and linked their fingers together. Sasuke felt a gentle spasm run up his arm at the contact and ended up sighing and closing his own fingers tighter around Naruto's. He still hadn't really come to terms with himself that his blond friend had a bigger impact on him than he liked to admit. It was true, though, because the moment he felt Naruto's skin in his, his nerves always seemed to either cool down considerably or run wild.

The small coffee shop was disgustingly adorable, all decorated in white and baby blue – Hinata's choice, of course – and Sasuke had no idea how long they had been there already, or how many cigarettes he had smoked before his stomach started protesting his hunger. The round table the four of them were sitting at was close to the door, but the place was empty apart from them and the two young waitresses.

Sasuke inhaled sharply through his nose while his right hand – the free one – was being very useful in shoving pieces of strawberry cake into his mouth. He had no idea how many cakes he had ingested so far either, but since he wasn't feeling particularly disgusted by their sweetness – which was surprising even to him – and still felt hungry, he just kept on ordering and munching, glad to have something to occupy his mouth with and saving him the hassle of engaging in the same stupid conversations the other three seemed so engrossed in.

Now that he thought about it, why the hell was he feeling so damned hungry in the first place when he was rarely ever hungry to begin with?

"They stole _all _your clothes?" Kiba was asking, laughing loudly with his arm over a giggling Hinata's shoulders.

"I know, right?" Naruto was saying, scowling at his friend's laughter. "They had it all planned out, too! They must've been following me to make sure I stayed at Sasuke's before breaking into my apartment and stealing my stuff! And they scattered the clothes all over Konoha, too! It took me and Sasuke forever to find everything. I swear I got the worst team ever! I think I'll have to start beating them up, seriously."

"I'm surprised that it was all Shinji-kun's fault," Hinata said, in her gentle tone. "He is such a calm, well-behaved boy back at the Compound."

"Well, in my world, he's my worst nightmare," Naruto grumbled, pouting. "He makes my life a living hell and somehow forces the other two to join his evil plans."

"He is a Hyuuga, and a fan of Neji's," Kiba said, picking up his tall glass of beer. "And you're dating Neji's precious person, what did you expect?"

Sasuke's eyes snapped up to glare at Kiba, who promptly ignored him. Why did people keep talking about his relationship with Neji after all those months? Did they think teasing him was funny?

"I don't know, he's twelve, so maybe a little respect and consideration?" Naruto said, with an annoyed frown, clearly not minding the comment. "The cool guy strategy isn't going to work; they don't take me seriously at all."

"Yeah, but be careful, though, you know you can't force them to respect you, you'll have to earn it," Kiba said, sipping his beer in a good-mood. His brown eyes landed on Sasuke casually "What about you, Sasuke? Are you planning on becoming a _Sensei_ as well?"

The Uchiha quirked an eyebrow at him and set down his fork slowly as he finished chewing, promptly ignoring how Naruto and Hinata's attentions focused on him as well.

"I'm in ANBU." He said simply, hoping that the small phrase itself would be enough for Kiba to give up on trying making small talk with him. But Kiba was as oblivious as one could be.

"So?" The mutt pressed on, as Sasuke wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. "You also do Jounin work, I'm sure you could get yourself a team of snotty brats as well. You'd toughen up their spines in no time."

"I can't be in ANBU and train a team, Kiba," Sasuke replied firmly. "I'm already busy enough as it is."

"I suppose you're right." Kiba agreed, with a short, thoughtful nod. "Hinata told me you'll be promoted to Captain soon, is that right?"

"Ah, N-Neji-nii-san told me…" Hinata stuttered apologetically, a blush that didn't affect Sasuke coloring her pretty cheeks.

"It'll take a while for that to happen," He said, picking up his fork again and stabbing the remaining bit of cake in his plate. "I still have a lot to learn, and since Neji's the one who's teaching me and will be the one to decide when I'm ready, we'll have to see."

"You'll make it no time, you'll see," Naruto said happily, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "Hey, give me that last bit of cake; you've been stuffing your face all afternoon. I thought you didn't like sweets."

"I don't." Sasuke rolled his eyes and fed the last bit of his semi smashed delicacy to his boyfriend. Of course Naruto would notice him eating something unusual.

"Maybe your palate has changed?" Hinata suggested shyly. "They say it changes every seven years."

"Probably." Sasuke indulged, even though he was sure he was just hungry and still not fond of sweets.

"I don't know what it is, but that's a good cake," Naruto affirmed after swallowing, looking at Sasuke with a grin. "We should get some more to take home for desert and see how much fatter you ass can get."

"It can't possibly get fatter than yours," Sasuke contradicted, eyeing Naruto with a smirk. "That ass has become pretty heavy as of late."

"You love my ass as meaty and phenomenally shaped as it is!"

"Okaaay, that's way too much information for us!" Kiba protested with a disgusted frown as Hinata laughed gently and slapped his arm.

The three males ordered another beer and Naruto requested for another slice of cake – of which he only ate half since Sasuke effectively stole the other half from him – before the two couples paid the waitress and headed out. They still had to walk together for a while before having to split ways.

Naruto and Kiba strolled side by side, arguing loudly and passionately about some senseless idiocy while Sasuke and Hinata were right behind them in blissful silence.

The sun was already setting, the raven concluded to himself with a bored sigh. The day had been such a complete waste that it had actually tired him more than any other day. All he wanted was to go home, take a shower, cook dinner because he was _still_ fucking hungry as hell, and hopefully molest Naruto – or coerce Naruto into molesting him, whichever was more convenient then.

"S-Sasuke-san?" Hinata whispered shyly beside him, stirring him up from his drifting thoughts. He turned his head to the side; elegant eyebrows rising in surprise at having the shy girl address him directly. She wasn't looking at him, instead focusing her eyes on Kiba's back. "I-I know we don't talk much, and I understand that you don't really like me but…I just wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you for making Naruto-kun happy."

Sasuke's pressed his lips together tightly, not really wanting to comment on her words. Coming from her, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to think, or how he was supposed to react.

In a way, he understood that it wasn't her fault he felt suspicious towards her, even if she had found a new boyfriend. She and Naruto were still too close for Sasuke's comfort, and honestly, while she posed no threat to him – and really, he had nothing against her – he didn't really want to be friends with her either. He just associated with her because she was someone precious to Naruto, and a _Shinobi_ comrade that he would protect anytime if needed.

"I mean…I always knew the two of you had something special going on, but I have to admit that I was feeling a bit fearful at the beginning, and hurt, especially of Neji-nii-san's behalf," She proceeded in a low tone, clearly not wanting Kiba or Naruto to listen to what she was saying. "But I'm happy it all turned out well!" She added, turning her genuinely smiling face towards the Uchiha. "Fortunately it's been a while already, so I know you'll be together forever. So…I guess I just wanted you to know that I respect you and that I'm really happy for the both of you."

Sasuke flinched a bit, forcing his face not to twist in an unpleasant grimace at the unknown and uncomfortable sensation in his stomach. Why the hell was she talking about such things after all that time? Sure, they had spoken to each other about five times in their whole lives, but still, why now? Was she trying to be friends with him or something? Because Sasuke didn't like to talk, and Hinata was horribly shy, so he didn't know how they would ever manage to interact even if they _wanted_ to.

Thankfully, they had approached the Hyuuga Compound, so Sasuke was saved from having to offer some kind of reply to the girl.

Kiba was going to take Hinata home, _inside_ of the Compound since, apparently, Hiashi approved of Kiba one hundred percent and allowed him to set foot in his house. Naruto didn't seem bothered by the knowledge considering how he had been despised by the girl's father when they had dated, which pleased Sasuke immensely.

After having waved goodbye to the two, Naruto and Sasuke made their way to Uchiha's place, the raven grabbing Naruto's hand of his own accord and intertwining their fingers, making the blond grin madly and tease him to end about him going soft.

Sasuke didn't really listen to Naruto's incessant babbling, but behind the dark bangs that hid his face, he was smiling slightly, some part of him feeling a victorious possessiveness in knowing that Naruto belonged to him.

oOo

"What do you think about Kiba and Hinata?" Naruto asked casually, blue eyes fixed on the TV in front of him, where a cooking show was on. Sasuke shifted slightly, accommodating his legs over the blonde's lap, both boys just chilling out on the old couch.

"Hinata is annoyingly shy and sweet, and Kiba talks too much." Sasuke replied nonchalantly, not averting his gaze from the thick book he was reading. What the book was about, Naruto didn't know, but the title was huge and had a lot of complicated words, so he wasn't really too keen on getting acquainted with whatever it was that satisfied Sasuke's intellectual needs.

"I meant as a couple." Naruto persisted, rolling his eyes before turning them to his lover, one hand over the other's knee.

"Oh," Sasuke muttered, shrugging. "They're alright."

Naruto puckered his lips thoughtfully, his fingers squeezing said knee gently. The old lady hosting the show was making some kind of meat pie, talking softly but excitedly as she introduced the ingredients.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" He inquired, after a while, causing Sasuke to finally lower his book and throw him a look of exasperation.

"And this is of your concern because...?"

"Well, I helped them..." Naruto replied, as if it was obvious. "Duh."

"Something you did because you're an idiot and wanted to make sure the Hyuuga princess had someone to look after her," Sasuke reminded him, heaving a sigh and letting the book rest over his lap. "Which, by the way, was none of your business, and none of your concern to begin with."

"I care about her," Naruto defended hotly. "And Kiba. He's a nice guy."

"Of course." It was Sasuke's turn to roll his eyes before elegant fingers pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why the hell are we talking about those two right now? Wasn't it enough that we had to spend the whole afternoon with them?"

Sasuke's annoyed tone made Naruto grin goofily. After all, it was because of him that the raven had accepted to waste most of their joined day off for them to go meet Kiba and Hinata, and even though Naruto knew Sasuke would rather pick up flowers than going, he had conceded and actually managed to behave for Naruto's sake, which had made him really happy, even if Sasuke had been in a sour mood ever since.

"Hey, there's no need to be jealous." Naruto said teasingly, moving his hand upwards over the fabric of Sasuke's dark pajama pants and caressing his thigh gently.

"I'll be doomed the day I feel jealous of either of them." Sasuke replied dryly, eyeing the hand with an eyebrow quirked upwards as the hand moved slowly towards his crotch.

"I only have eyes for you." Naruto said playfully, smirking deviously.

"I know," Sasuke snapped, hitting his hand with a quick slap and making his boyfriend pout. "I just wish you could stop playing the big brother part for someone who, most likely, is still pretty much in love with you."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, feeling his previous good mood draining away rather suddenly at Sasuke's chilly voice.

"Well, I wish you would stop having drinks with Neji," He snapped back. "He's in love with _you_, but I never said anything against you and him hanging out."

"Neither did I say anything about you changing Hinata's diapers." Came Sasuke's drawl, making Naruto blink at him for a few seconds before his eyes stared holes into the other's sharp ones.

"You're cold, Sasuke." He ended up saying.

Sasuke threw the book to the side with precision so that it landed on top on the low table in from of the couch with a heavy thud. "You have no idea how cold I can be."

"Yes, I do," Naruto replied challengingly. "You shoved your hand through my chest, right after saying I was your best friend, remember?" He ignored Sasuke's suddenly upset expression, pointing at his chest where a scar could have been had the Kyuubi's chakra not healed him as perfectly as it had. "Right here."

"Naruto..." Sasuke was clearly trying to fake his hurt tone with one of annoyance, but Naruto could sense it, so he lifted up a hand to stop him from saying anything else.

"It's fine," He said simply. "I forgave you, and you made it worth it, so don't worry about it."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at Naruto.

"I don't." It was all he said before him, too, crossed his arms over his chest and huffed, head snapping to the side to glue his clearly fuming stare to the television.

Naruto watched him for a few seconds, wondering if he had taken it too far. It wasn't his fault that Sasuke took everything to heart and sulked about every little thing. If he knew Naruto would find a way to reverse things to attack him back, why did he push his buttons in the first place? What was wrong with Hinata and Kiba, anyway? And why was he such an anti-social bastard?

He and Hinata were still good friends and Naruto really had no feelings left for her whatsoever apart from that big protective side of his that still regarded her as part of the family he didn't have.

And besides, it wasn't as if Naruto was 100% alright with his boyfriend having to see his Ex every fucking day, but they were teammates and were forced to have a professional relationship, and Naruto wasn't immature to the point of wanting to break them apart when Neji was the key for one of Sasuke's dreams to come true.

Not to mention that Naruto really liked Neji apart from his past with Sasuke. They were friends, and it wasn't like he wanted to keep the Hyuuga away from either him or Sasuke.

The Uchiha was everything in Naruto's world, and there was nothing he wanted more than for him to be happy and replace every bad thing about his past with nothing but joy and good memories.

Their lives were just so busy that they barely managed to have time for each other _and_ other people around them, so they sometimes just had to shove everything together and waste precious time with other people and…well, Sasuke wasn't too ecstatic about it most of the times. If only they could...

"We should move in together." Naruto blurted out, shaking Sasuke's leg with both hands and making the other cringe and frown at him in disapproval.

The answer was straightforward.

"No."

"Eh?!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, eyes going wide. "You won't even think about it?!"

Sasuke made a sound similar to a groan and nimbly removed his legs from Naruto's lap to sit straight on the couch, naked feet landing on the floor. "Don't you think it's too soon to take such a step?"

He leaned forward to pick up his pack of cigarettes and the lighter on top of it from the table, and a bit shocked, Naruto watched his controlled movements as he brought one to his mouth and lit it, smoke floating its way up to the ceiling.

"We already stay over each other's houses most of the times." The youngest one whined, turning to the side on the seat to face Sasuke, sitting Indian style.

"Yes, but both our apartments are too small for another person to inhabit frequently." The raven reasoned, as if talking to small child, looking at his boyfriend with something akin to reproach in his eyes.

"But, we could find a new place and..."

"Naruto," Sasuke sighed, running a hand through his hair. "No means _no_."

Naruto gaped, his mouth opening and closing stupidly while Sasuke just huffed as if that meant the conversation was more than over and focused on pretending the show in front of him interested him.

For some reason, Sasuke not wanting to live together hit Naruto like a painful blow to the chest. Sure, they had only been dating for close to eight months, and it wasn't a long time when one really thought about it, but...

Didn't Sasuke want to have someone to literally come home to? Didn't he wish they could see each other every day, and spend more time together? Wouldn't it be better for both of them, to split the bills and everything else?

Loneliness had been a part of Sasuke's – and Naruto's – life for far too long, he was supposed to want to get away from it, right? If the suggestion had been done the other way around, Naruto wouldn't have hesitated.

But Sasuke…

More than feeling angry, Naruto felt confused and somewhat hurt, even though he knew it was childish of him to be feeling that way, but he couldn't help the surge of disappointment that had nested inside his heart.

"Fine!" He said with uncontained spite. "Whatever."

He moved and got to his feet, needing a bit of space away from his boyfriend, otherwise it would be certain they would end up fighting, and they had made a promise to each other that they would try their best to avoid pointless arguments. It was hard most of the times, because neither really liked to close their mouths when something didn't please them – and bickering over stupid things was almost like breathing when it came to them – but it didn't mean they didn't at least try. So right now, the kitchen seemed like the perfect place to cool off.

"Hey," Sasuke's hand reflexively caught Naruto's wrist to stop him from bolting. "What's with that face?"

That touch and that voice was all it took for Naruto's resolve of keeping his thought to himself to falter.

"I like it when we're together," He barked, turning his head to look at Sasuke with resentment. "I like it when we sleep together and watch TV together and do things together. I miss you when we're apart. I thought you felt the same way."

Sasuke's eyebrows rose in disbelief.

"This has nothing to do with the way I feel," He hissed, shaking his head from side to side, leaning over once more to put out his cigarette on the metal ashtray on the table without letting go of Naruto's wrist. "But we're nineteen, and you're being childish. Moving in together is...we have completely different types of routines and habits, it's not like we can adapt to each other's whims from one day to the other."

Naruto bit his lip, trying to break free from Sasuke's grasp, but his fingers were strong and restrained him, and truthfully, he could never really fight that touch unless they were sparring or really angry at each other to the point where only physical aggression could made them both calm down.

"We could change..." He muttered.

"We would argue three times more than we do now." Sasuke said, trying to keep his tone patient, moving his hand to grab Naruto's. The blond just swallowed hard, still boiling inside.

"Whatever, Sasuke, I got your point."

Naruto tried to break free once some, but Sasuke tugged his hand forcefully, causing the blond to stumble a bit backwards, awkwardly.

"Just come here." The Uchiha ordered, pulling him down and managing to force him to sit down once more due to the lack of balance.

"What?" Naruto mumbled resigned. Sasuke moved closer confidently so they were sitting very close together, one arm over Naruto's shoulders, his other hand over his thigh, effectively keeping him in place.

He was done for, Naruto thought bitterly, somewhat disgusted at himself, because there was no way he could break away now that Sasuke's heat was all over him. The Uchiha wasn't an affectionate person by nature unless sex was involved, which meant Naruto kind of enjoyed a little too much when he took the initiative of being slightly caring towards him. Sometimes he wondered when, how or why he had become so weak for his best friend. It was a hassle, too, because Sasuke was more than aware of it and promptly used it to his own advantage. Naruto took great pride in himself for not having caved in completely, _yet_, forcing himself to stay still and not touch the other back.

"It took ten years for me to move out of my parents' house," Sasuke began, softer this time, his mouth near his ear as Naruto just directed his sulking gaze to the entrance door, trying very hard to ignore how Sasuke's breath in his skin made chills run down his spine. "I like my apartment, I like having things my own way. I'm rebuilding my old house so that I can go back there some day, so why should I jump around from one place to another? What if we break up?"

Naruto's head turned to the side so that his lips were mere inches away from Sasuke's. He was still for a moment, taken aback by how close they were and how his rage seemed to be subsiding considerably because of it, but then promptly cleared his throat.

"We won't." He contradicted in a whisper that was way too weak for his own taste.

"You don't know that. Making things harder is unnecessary when my door is always open for you." The raven whispered back, smiling ever so slightly before leaning in and pressing his mouth gently to the corner of Naruto's mouth. "Also…" He breathed."… you're an idiot. You of all people should never question my feelings."

"I don't…question your feelings," Naruto found himself stuttering as said mouth kept trailing gentle kisses on his chin, moving to his jaw. "Just...is the idea of us living together that absurd?"

Sasuke nibbled on his cheek and Naruto shivered involuntarily. Yep, he was done for. Trust Sasuke to seduce his way out of a stupid fight.

"For now, yes, it is."

When Sasuke's hand on his thigh swiftly moved upwards and unceremoniously rubbed his forming erection, Naruto's stuttering only worsened, mixed with a poorly controlled moan. "B-but…ah…would you like to…live with me…someday?"

Sasuke moved away slightly to frown at him dangerously, and Naruto could only blink his lust-filled eyes at him hopefully.

"Are you seriously asking me this when I'm rebuilding my house according to some of your ideas?" Sasuke retorted with spite. "Fuck, Naruto, you're such a moron."

"Sorry," Naruto muttered, feeling a bit silly, but Sasuke was already attacking his neck more aggressively now, teeth biting down possessively on his jugular as his nails scratched Naruto's now evident arousal over his sweat pants, quickly making the Uzumaki's head spin and his heart race with a need so powerful that there was no more space for anger. "Ah, fuck…why do you always have to use sex to shut me up?"

"Because it's the only thing that's effective enough," Sasuke hissed, offering him a feral smirk. "So keep your mouth shut before I become angrier and not let you top from the bottom, yes?"

Before Naruto could even wonder, Sasuke had pushed him backwards and moved nimbly to straddle his waist before leaning down and capturing his lips hungrily, hands burying themselves in blond locks, and all the blond knew at that point was that having his boyfriend's ass rubbing against him in an obvious promise of wonderful things to come was too good to refuse, so he gave in and didn't hesitate in running his hands over his lover's sides, pulling him slowly and kissing back with as much enthusiasm.

When Sasuke backed away slightly and lifted his arms up so Naruto could remove his t-shirt and throw it to the side, the blond noticed that the seal adorning his lover's abdomen was completely visible, the patterns defined and as black as if they had been freshly painted upon the pale, smooth skin.

Naruto knew the thing sometimes appeared while they were being intimate, but it was always slightly blurry, not the vivid black he was seeing now. The only times when he had seen it so clearly was whenever they sparred while using chakra, but that was 'normal', according to Tsunade.

Now that he thought about it, he had spotted the seal like that as well two days ago when he and Sasuke had been getting dressed for work.

Some kind of weird alarm went off in his head, telling him that maybe he should talk to Sasuke about that, but the other was kissing him and doing the most amazing things with his tongue and touching him in all the right spots with his hands and the thought just slipped his mind.

When Sasuke moaned against him, he was sure that it could wait until the next day.

oOo

The land where once the Uchiha Compound had stood, proud but neglected, was now nothing but a large and empty field of dirt, dust and the offspring of grass and weeds. Sasuke's house – that was bigger than Naruto had predicted – stood in the middle of said deserted area, patiently waiting for the time when someone would decide to start healing its bruises and provide a much needed makeover.

It had taken many months for the grounds to be cleared of the wreckage left by the buildings that had been torn down. Now, there was still some paperwork to be taken care of so that Sasuke could claim his part of the land and for the orphanage to start being built. For the time being, the Uchiha was still getting things straightened out with the architect he had hired for the job and trying to understand what he could afford to buy, build and rebuild according to his budget.

Sasuke did not know this, but Naruto often got out of his way to check up on the house. It wasn't like he was afraid that someone might try and damage it, it was just that somewhere deep inside he felt like that house was already a part of him. Because it was so important to his lover, it had become important to him, and because of the fact that Sasuke had wanted his opinion on what should be changed about it, Naruto valued it even more. He wasn't planning on counting on that house for his future residence, but knowing that Sasuke thought about it actually made him all warm and fuzzy inside, and made him feel a devastating wave of longing for the raven and for that place. He wished the future would come quickly, so that they could be together as a real family.

How someone like Sasuke could even think it was too soon to live with another person, Naruto didn't understand. Hadn't eleven years of loneliness been enough for him? Didn't he want to feel safe and just…have someone to come home to every day?

Sure, the blond could understand the whole concept of them being young and whatever, but Naruto was sure that, no matter what Sasuke might say, if they had made it through the first few weeks of their relationship as a couple, they would make it through the next eight decades if they lived that long.

"You know, I must admit that Sasuke-kun has surprised me with how much he cares for you," Sakura said thoughtfully from Naruto's left side after hearinf his side of the story, drumming her fingers over the counter at Ichiraku's. "But I doubt he's romantic to the point of deluding himself into believing that your love story will last forever. Even if it _does_, he's too realistic to take it for granted, I guess."

"Yeah, he's not so gay that he has to think like a woman," Konohamaru emphasized at Naruto's right, teasingly. "Unlike _someone_ I know."

Naruto turned his offended face to his young protégé who, at sixteen, already thought he could stick his nose in other people's business and comment like an expert.

"I'm not a damn woman, and don't talk as if you know what you're talking about!" Naruto hissed between clenched teeth, punching the brat's arm.

"Ouch!" Konohamaru whined, rubbing the hurt spot with a pout before fixing the collar of his green vest. "You're the one whining like a girl, why am I being hit?"

"Don't just vent your frustration in him!" Sakura scolded, hitting Naruto across the head and ignoring his complaint. "Why are you being such a baby about this, anyway? If Sasuke-kun doesn't want to live together, then let him be! You guys aren't married or anything, just drop it."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head in annoyance, blue eyes fixed on Teuchi-san's back.

"I just..."He muttered helplessly. "Isn't it...am I wrong in wanting to spend more time together? In wanting him to be happy? In wanting us to be a family?"

"Look, Naruto," Sakura said, heaving a sigh and turning on her high stool to face him and place her hand on his arm. "I can't possibly claim to know him better than you do, but that is why you should know, better than anyone else, how much you mean to him. You've been alone your whole life, but he had a family, and once he lost it, he had to go through the process of being alone for all these years. That fear of going through it all over again…that's not something you can change from one moment to the other."

Naruto bit his lip at Sakura's words. When they had fought at the valley of the end, Sasuke had said something similar. At the time, it made him see Sasuke's pain in a while different light and realize he hadn't known his rival as well as he thought he did.

"It's just like…falling in love with you," Sakura proceeded, smiling slightly at him. "You think it's easy loving someone after having to deal with the pain of losing loved ones? For him to have given himself the chance to care for people is a huge deal. He gave his heart to you, what more do you want? Besides, you already are the closest thing to a family he has. Not living together won't change that. You're the luckiest guy on the planet for being so special to someone like him."

Naruto blushed before feeling a little guilty. Sakura was in love with Sasuke and she still managed to say those things to cheer him up. Worst, she acknowledged Sasuke had deep feelings for Naruto, and that made the blond uncomfortable for some reason, because he didn't want Sakura to be hurt by her own words if the reality of them came crashing down upon her. Well, Naruto hoped that after eight months she had moved on, but it wasn't really something they debated. Still, she seemed genuinely honest, and there was no denying the fact that she had matured and shown them all of her support throughout the journey of his and Sasuke's tumultuous relationship.

Naruto knew she was right, of course – he was to Sasuke someone exclusive. His privileges as his lover and best friend were something many could only imagine or wonder about. Yes, they had their ups and downs, but what they had could never be destroyed, no matter what happened to them in the future.

Sakura was talking about love, but he and the raven never really spoke about that because…well, some things were better left unsaid, and for some reason, when thinking about it, Naruto feared that, once one of them said how they truly felt, the word would become underrated. In a way, it already felt that 'love' was too simple of a word to describe whatever was happening between them. Of course Sakura couldn't know that, so he didn't expect her to understand him – to understand his needs towards Sasuke.

Still, the beauty of how they felt together was undeniable, so it wasn't a matter of Naruto doubting Sasuke's feelings. It was a matter of his own selfishness in wanting more time with Sasuke.

Great, so now he felt bad that he was still sulking and that he'd been such a brat about the issue the night before.

Groaning, he downed the rest of his beer in one go before pursing his lips together with a shudder.

"Nee, Naruto-nii-chan, you should just appreciate the joys of being corresponded in love," Konohamaru said, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding seriously, more to himself than to the older Jounin. "Even if Sasuke _is _a creepy guy, I can tell he really cares about you. Well, I'd beat his face off if he didn't, but..."

"Assuming you could manage to do that." Naruto interrupted, a small smile forming in his mouth. He thought it was really funny that Konohamaru had the audacity to call the Uchiha 'Sasuke' behind his back when he always addressed him in person by 'Sasuke-san', probably more out of fear than actual respect.

"Whatever," The youngest Sarutobi muttered dismissively. "Point is you're lucky to have the attention of such a person. You just like to complain with your stomach full, as they say."

"I don't like to complain," Naruto defended. "You don't know our relationship at all. I mean, it's not bad, I just think…"

"You think too much," Sakura interrupted, pinching Naruto's arm playfully. "I mean, seriously, you should be ashamed of yourself, talking about your love problems with me of all people."

Naruto found himself blushing.

"Well, yeah…" He mumbled apologetically. "Am I being insensitive here?"

"Damn right you are." Konohamaru confirmed with a curt and firm nod. "Don't mind him, Sakura-san; let's grab some ice cream instead of listening to this wimp."

Sakura laughed at that and Naruto threw a nasty look at his youngest friend.

"Sounds good to me."

"What?!" Naruto gasped, turning his head to the pink haired girl, who was already getting up from her stool, Konohamaru following shortly, going to her with his hands inside his pockets.

"Are you seriously going on a date with a punk and leave me here?" The blond inquired, outraged. "You never went on a date with me!"

"It's just ice cream," Sakura said, smiling sweetly at him as she linked her arm with Konohamaru's. "Besides, he's not as annoying as you were where you were his age."

Naruto's mouth fell as his brown haired apprentice stuck his tongue out to him, "And I'm better looking, too."

Naruto's chin fell.

"Hey!" He protested, annoyed. "I'm a stud, you damned brat! And I need you, Sakura-chan!"

"No you don't," She said, rolling her eyes at him. "You have to stop being so childish about minimal things. You've already almost lost him once, so take the time to think if it's worth taking the chance of losing him for good when some of us don't have him at all. Just let things flow and don't worry about it."

That made Naruto close his mouth completely, once more being assaulted by an odd feeling of guilt and exhaustion.

His two friends grinned at him before waving him goodbye and leaving the outdoor establishment together, Naruto watching them disappear behind the white fabric strips.

Heaving a sigh, he turned on his stool so that he was facing the counter once more, resting his cheeks over his palms just as Ayame was setting a steamy bowl of _ramen_ in front of him.

It wasn't like Sakura or Konohamaru were supposed to keep him company for lunch. He and Sakura had agreed to meet for a bit on both their lunch breaks, and the youngest one had been coincidentally strolling down the street as they made their way to Ichiraku, but it wasn't like Naruto had been expecting to be left on his own so soon.

_The next thing I know, Sakura-chan will be dating a kid, _Naruto mused to himself, the thought making him snort.

He eyed the bowl in front of him wearily, not feeling all that hungry anymore. Of course Sakura was right. He always made a big deal out of things, but then again, so did Sasuke, whenever he wasn't deciding on not giving a damn.

It just kind of hurt that his lover preferred occasional company in favor of always having Naruto by his side.

Swallowing hard in defeat, he reached for the chopsticks and separated them from each other.

"It's good to know I always know where to find you when I'm looking for you." A voice he knew all too well drawled behind him, making him flinch in surprise.

He twisted his body to see Sasuke in his Jounin attire, the Uchiha looking bored as stood beside him, placing his hand over his shoulder, the other one shoved inside the pocket of his vest. Naruto watched him with eyes wide, his chopsticks hanging in the air.

"Is Sakura becoming a pedophile?" Sasuke asked absently, scrunching up his nose as he looked down at him. "I could swear I just saw her with the Sarutobi kid."

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked almost shyly, ignoring the question. It wasn't every day that they met during breaks; they generally just caught glimpses of each other during the day and then met at night over each other's places unless they were out on missions. Well, sometimes they took five minutes to make out here and there, but with Naruto now on regular Jounin duty and also having his own team of brats; it was becoming a rare occurrence.

"I'm going to run a few errands for Neji," Sasuke said, shrugging in fake nonchalance. "I was walking close by, so I came to check if you were here. I thought I'd drop by and say hello."

Naruto lowered the chopsticks, blinking several times because he could swear Sasuke was blushing, even if his features remained calm.

The mood had remained a bit sour even after they had sex the previous night, and they had barely spoken to one another that morning, mostly because Naruto had still been sulking and Sasuke had been too annoyed by it, thus deciding that verbal communication would only lead them to another fight.

So, yes, in a way Naruto considered that Sasuke getting out of his way to see him was unbelievably cute. He looked up at his boyfriend and offered him a tiny but honest smile. "Hello."

Sasuke puckered up his lips slightly, the red in his cheeks becoming more aggressive as he squeezed Naruto's shoulder awkwardly.

"Huh…have you spoken to Neji about the seal, yet?" Naruto asked, his heart beating a bit faster as his hands shook slightly with the need to do something that would probably consist of him sucking on Sasuke's mouth right there – which would be a good idea if they weren't being watched so obviously and so closely by Teuchi-san and Ayame.

"The checkup is in two days, and I'm fine, so I didn't feel the need to talk to him about it," The brunet said simply, looking at Naruto intensely. "I was just wondering…I'm working late, I should be out at nine. Do you still want me to go to your place or…"

"Yeah, sure." Naruto said quickly, his voice cracking a bit.

"Okay. If you wait for me, I'll cook us something for dinner."

"Sounds good," Naruto muttered, after having cleared his throat. "I'll wait."

"Okay." Sasuke said.

"Okay." Naruto repeated.

They stared at each other for a while, both tense and clearly wanting to say something but not really knowing what until the Uchiha licked his lips and sighed.

"Well, I have to go," He replied, his tone softer than it had been when he first got there. "I'll see you later. Don't slack off or the Hokage will rip your head off."

"I'll just finish this and I'll get back to work." Naruto assured, frowning. "I'm not incompetent, Sasuke."

"I know." Sasuke nodded, rolling his eyes. Then, he leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of Naruto's head before ruffling his hair roughly but affectionately. If Naruto hadn't blushed before, he sure as hell felt himself blushing violently now, all previous good and bad feelings he might have had being replaced by awe and a form of happiness that made him feel very childish and actually kind of girly because his heart started beating really fast. Inside, he was shrieking.

With blue eyes wide, he turned on the stool and watched his teammate move away and turning to leave.

"Sasuke," He called out, his voice shook now, making Sasuke look over his shoulder with a questioning look. "You…I really…"

"Don't say it," Sasuke interrupted him mildly, a smirk forming itself on the corner of his pretty mouth. "You'll vulgarize it."

After that, he left, leaving Naruto alone once more, pretty much breathless and stupidly embarrassed out of his mind because of how stupid he was for feeling so overjoyed every time his lover decided to do something small but significant for him.

In the end, Naruto could never be angry at him for long because, truth be told, he cared about Sasuke so much that he would always put his wishes above his own, and that was something he couldn't change no matter what.

He had almost said something stupid and sappy, too, so thank the heavens Sasuke had stopped him before he regretted it. After all, why was he going to say it in the first place if he felt the same way about the word? How stupid of him.

Still, he wanted to smile, but his face seemed exasperated at him and refused to cooperate.

When he twisted himself to face the counter once more, Teuchi-san was nowhere to be seen and Ayame was smiling openly at him, more than fascinated and moved by their interaction.

"You know, Ayame-chan," Naruto mumbled with a sigh. "That guy is going to be the death of me."

"Don't say that, the two of you are really lucky," She said good- humoredly as she dried a glass with a white table cloth. "What you two have….even I know you don't see that everywhere."

Naruto forced his face to twitch and he managed to smile back a little.

He had almost forgotten that he was supposed to eat, but the smell of Ramen filled his nostrils and reminded his stomach that, unlike what he had previously thought, he was rather hungry.

Picking up his chopsticks once more, he dipped them into the bowl and muttered a quiet 'itadakimasu' before starting to eat, his mind filled with thoughts of Sasuke.

Even after so many months, it still baffled him how much his best friend had become the center of his entire universe and how, in spite of it, he still wouldn't want it any other way.

**TBC…**


	3. Chapter Two: Omen

**A/N: **The chapter was hard to write! But I'm sooo happy it's finally done! I didn't keep you guys waiting for too long, did I?

This chapter has been beta'd by the lovely **chase3136**, who is a wonderful beta. *Hugs*

Thank you to all of you who reviewed and faved! You guys are awesome!

**Warnings: **Light drama and small lemons.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Omen**

Naruto was lying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling of his room with his wrist over his forehead as Sasuke breathed gently beside him, still pretty much unconscious since it was early and the sun was barely rising over the village, not yet providing enough light to illuminate the small apartment. The blond had been brought to consciousness by a violent convulsion of his own body, the after feeling of the dream he had been having not allowing him to go back to sleep. There was a heaviness in his chest he couldn't let go of, and the sadness and dreariness it caused didn't look like it wanted to leave.

Even though he had slept like a rock, he had spent his slumber being assaulted by memories of the past that he would've rather not to be reminded of, ever again. As if that had not been enough, for some reason, his brain had decided to bring to the surface all of these repressed feelings he wasn't aware he had and give them shape. So, it wasn't just the memories that had upset him, but also what he had seen in his dreams, and what he had felt.

He never thought he could feel that sort of pain again – never thought he _would_ feel it again.

He turned his head to the side, his blue eyes scanning Sasuke's sleeping features. The raven was on his side, facing him; one hand resting on the pillow in front of his face, palm turned upwards, his other arm over his own waist, where the priestess's seal could be seen in its pitch black color. Sasuke's mouth was slightly open but no noise came out of it.

Naruto bit his lip as he shifted carefully so that he was on his side as well, body facing Sasuke's.

It wasn't as if Naruto constantly feared that something might happen to them someday. He knew that he, himself, couldn't ever guarantee for sure that things would always be alright between them and that they'd be together forever. He couldn't guess what tomorrow would be like, couldn't guarantee that he would always feel the way he did, but he knew what he felt, what he wanted right _now_, and that was to be with Sasuke. He was sure, though, that no matter what happened between them, he would never be happy without Sasuke in his life in some way.

Throughout all these 'what ifs' and 'whatnots', though, Naruto knew that what he felt for Sasuke was so particular, so unique, that the probability of it going away was so small it almost made him laugh.

The fact that they were now lovers was nothing more than a result of an unending amount of stored up shared feelings and experiences that had walked hand in hand with both of them throughout the years, binding them together even before they acknowledged it. That kind of link wouldn't just vanish from one day to the other – it couldn't be simply disposed of, either.

He knew the Uchiha felt the same way about him, and that was something that made Naruto feel safe. So why dream about something so horrible in his eyes? Why did he still feel so scared after all that time?

He felt his eyes beginning to water, so he blinked several times to stop them from forming tears. He was being stupid, he knew that. It was just a dream, and the real Sasuke was not the Sasuke formed by his subconscious. Sasuke was a different person now than he'd been in the past, even if certain traits of his personality remained pretty much immutable.

Sighing lightly, he reached out and carefully brushed dark bangs away from Sasuke's porcelain cheek before caressing it with his knuckles. He moved the knuckles upwards so that they brushed against Sasuke's eyebrow, where the piercing he had done still remained in the form of a silvery adornment.

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you?" he whispered, almost inaudibly.

Sasuke made him happy like he'd never been happy before; a beautiful, fulfilling way of compensating for all the pain he had inflicted upon him in the past. Sure, he was still a royal bastard, but he was _Naruto's_ royal bastard, and the blond liked him just the way he was, just like Sasuke put up with Naruto's own complicated personality. If the day came when they didn't fight and insult each other, then that would mean that they had stopped being _them_, and that's when things might become worrying.

The prospect of staring at Sasuke's sleeping form for another half hour or so seemed very appealing to Naruto, but it was also making him feel worse for some reason, so he decided against it and instead chose to get up and get ready for a day's work. Sulking and thinking about stuff that he didn't need to bother himself with**,** wouldn't do him any good.

The first thing he did was head over to his fridge to check on his food supplies. Thankfully, he had enough for a breakfast for two, but it was obvious that he'd have to go shopping that same day.

Intent on having a shower first and then cooking breakfast for himself and Sasuke, he headed for his bathing room, choosing not to wake his lover up until it was absolutely necessary since the raven had been looking so tired lately.

He entered the small square room and closed the door behind him. He didn't have much on, anyway, so he removed his boxers and dropped them on the three legged stool on the corner by his left. He then turned on the silvery tap on the front wall, water splashing down from the shower and hitting the floor, immediately wetting his feet. He adjusted the temperature to his liking and then stepped under the warm spray, the soothing feeling relaxing his muscles, a light comfort for his sensitive state of mind.

For a few minutes, Naruto just let himself enjoy the sensations with his head tilted down and his eyes closed, allowing the water to hit the back of his head and run down his body. He felt strangely numb in spite of the conflicts going on inside his head. His body was feeling so good he could've just fallen asleep if he wasn't so terribly sober.

He vaguely heard the door opening and softly clicking shut again, but didn't open his eyes or moved to see what was going on. Sure enough, it didn't take long for him to feel arms surrounding his waist from behind as lips were pressed to the back of his neck gently, before Sasuke rested his forehead on the same spot. Naruto lazily placed his hands over Sasuke's joined ones over his stomach. The contact of Sasuke's naked body felt incredibly reassuring, making his chest swell with bliss.

They remained silent for a while, listening to the water running.

"You're awfully quiet for such an early hour." Sasuke muttered, breaking the peaceful moment.

"Yeah…" Naruto mumbled, tilting his head backwards so that it connected with Sasuke's shoulder, the water hitting his chest. "Did I wake you? I didn't mean to; I actually wanted you to sleep as much as possible."

"So did I, but it wasn't your fault." Sasuke assured him, an oddly grave but calm tone marking his voice.

"Are you okay?" Naruto inquired perceptively.

"Yes, I just feel exhausted." the raven said, with a sigh. "And I'm starving; I could swear my stomach is consuming itself at this point."

"I'll have to feed you an extra portion for breakfast, then," Naruto joked softly; opening his eyes as Sasuke rested his chin on his left shoulder. "You've been eating like a pig for the past week; I'm amazed you haven't gained any weight." He turned his head to the side to kiss Sasuke's temple. "It isn't normal, you know? You should talk to Baa-chan about that. Maybe your body is lacking on something."

"I'm fine."

Naruto squeezed Sasuke's hands slightly before pulling them away from his waist and releasing them so he could turn and face his boyfriend. Sasuke was eyeing him passively, but he did look tired, his skin a bit paler than usual.

"Whatever it is, you should check it out," Naruto advised with a frown, both hands falling over Sasuke's shoulders, fingers massaging them gently. "I'm worried about you."

Sasuke offered him a small smirk and pulled him closer by the waist until their chests collided. Naruto felt his muscles shake when Sasuke's hands caressed his lower back with light fingers before moving upwards teasingly.

"Don't be," he said, leaning in and brushing his lips over the blonde's jaw. "I'm _fine_."

Naruto's heart raced considerably when their open mouths collided, lips moving sloppily for a few seconds before their tongues met. A rush of adrenaline made his body tremble and Naruto grabbed the now wet strands of Sasuke's nape, pressing himself flush against him so that they could be more in contact; so that he could feel Sasuke's own powerful heartbeat against his.

He could feel Sasuke's seal burn against his stomach in a temperature that was much hotter than the rest of his body. The thing pulled him in, closer to Sasuke, and Naruto felt the familiar and consistent absorption of his chakra as greedily as ever. He was used to it by now, that tingling sensation of his energy**,** leaving his body and entering Sasuke's, making his nerves shiver slightly, forcing him to be overwhelmingly conscious of the body pressed to his. It was incredibly intimate, and even though it didn't wear him out, he could see how the seal could be dangerous when in contact with someone with normal chakra levels.

Water sprayed down upon them, causing their skins to slide more easily in familiar and pleasurable friction. The contact was almost too good to bear, waking up all sorts of emotions inside Naruto, who couldn't help but to be reminded of how much he wanted that person and how much the stupid dreams had affected him.

It felt good when they were like this, in moments when nothing else seemed to exist but the two of them. Naruto had other friends, of course, other people he cared about and couldn't even bear the thought of losing, and yet, as far as he knew – and as far as his heart told him – that damned good-looking bastard was the center of his universe. If something were to happen to him, or if something wrecked their relationship, Naruto was sure he wouldn't know what to do with himself. Without Sasuke there, he would lose all sense of direction.

He let out a pitiful moan that sounded almost pained and kissed Sasuke with such force it hurt his lips, but the Uchiha didn't complain, responding with equal eagerness, willingly, sucking on Naruto's tongue lightly, and then licking the upper part of it slowly with his own tongue as he played a bit with the piercing Naruto had there.

They ceased the kiss after a while to catch their breaths, foreheads touching.

"Something's wrong," Sasuke whispered, his breath colliding with Naruto's. "What is it?"

Naruto swallowed hard and awkwardly rubbed Sasuke's neck, becoming tense.

"I just…don't you ever feel overwhelmed by _this_?" he asked cautiously. "By how right this feels? By how much this makes us feel?"

Sasuke didn't answer right away.

"I do," he admitted plainly, after giving it some thought. "Every single day. But it used to be worse when we started dating. I was…scared, at first, that it was all too perfect and that, sooner rather than later, something would happen and we'd realize this was all a big mistake. But it didn't turn out that way, so I'm considerably more confident about this right now."

Sasuke's words made Naruto bite his lip and lean away slightly so he could look into his lover's dark, rapt eyes.

"I love this," he said softly, brow furrowed in hesitation because he didn't know if Sasuke could understand what he was trying to express. "I love _us_, just like this. Even when we're fighting, even if everything is unbalanced…it's _us_; it's how we make it right. To me, it's perfect, but…I…I sometimes just don't know what to do with myself because I want so many things from you, _from us_, and I…"

He trailed off, not knowing how to voice it properly. He wanted to tell Sasuke his feelings, his fears, but he didn't want to hurt him, or scare him away.

"Go on." Sasuke encouraged even though there was a new**,**poorly concealed stiffness in his features, his voice low but devoid of emotion. He rubbed Naruto's back with slow, circular movements of his right hand, the left remaining still over his hip. "If something's upsetting you, you should let it out. You hate having things left to say, right?"

Naruto nodded, inhaling deeply.

"I…" His heart was beating so fast. Looking into Sasuke's eyes was painful sometimes, because it made it hard to breathe and caused all sorts of weird things to happen to him. Right now, it made his eyes sting with the recollection of what had upset him in the first place. "I just had these weird dreams about the past and…and then I dreamt that one day I woke up and you were just…gone. Just like that. You didn't leave a note, nothing. I waited for you, day after day, but you never came back home and I couldn't understand what was going on, if something had happened to you or if I had done something wrong or…I don't know. You never came back."

Sasuke's intense stare softened at seeing his best friend's disturbed expression.

"It was just a dream," he assured him firmly, cupping his cheek with one hand. "I don't want to leave this place ever again. I have nothing else, Naruto, so…"

"I know all that!" Naruto retorted snappishly, wiping his eyes furiously with the back of a hand. "I know, Sasuke. But it doesn't change the fact that it hurt like hell. I don't ever want to lose you! I wouldn't know what to do…Just thinking about how it felt, I…"

The rest of the sentence was cut off by Sasuke's lips latching themselves onto his with voraciousness, moving insistently against his, tongue immediately searching for entrance, but the intensity of it all demanding submission. Naruto was feeling too emotional, his feelings so raw that his need for being reassured by Sasuke made him give in completely because Sasuke understood him then – understood his feelings and, in his own way, Sasuke was trying to convey his own powerful but unbalanced feelings to Naruto.

Sasuke was trying to tell him that it was normal to feel that way because that fear, that uncontrollable need was felt by him on an equal level.

Sasuke was like gun powder camouflaged inside a tiny velvet pouch – you bring a match close to it, and it'll blow unexpectedly and make a mess. His feelings were like that; one moment he was apparently cool and collected – allowing all kinds of thoughts and emotions to build up inside him – and on the other he was bursting to life and letting it all out, and generally, he preferred doing it with his body rather than words, which was fine by Naruto, who didn't really know how to express himself most of the times either.

The light despair lingering inside Naruto's heart was quickly filled with wave after wave of hope, desire and affirmation as he wrapped his arms tightly around Sasuke's neck and felt Sasuke's hands roaming over his sides possessively, the kiss barely giving them time to breathe as teeth clashed and tongues fought.

When they broke apart with a noisy suction noise, Sasuke wasted no time in attacking Naruto's neck, his mouth sucking on his pulse as his hands travelled to his ass cheeks to grab them firmly and bring their bodies even closer together.

"I'm in love with you," He breathed against the blonde's skin. "I'm yours. That's all you need to focus on, you fucking moron."

Sasuke never really talked about being in love out loud, least of all to Naruto, but hearing him saying it like that, with such passion in his voice, made something in Naruto's brain snap. There were a lot of things about Sasuke that made it happen, and when it did, that was when the line that divided his rational thinking from his male instincts – that usually consisted of his animalistic lust for Sasuke mixed with the unorganized turmoil of feelings lying all the time inside his heart – burned to ashes, leaving nothing but a messy blur of need.

"I know…" Naruto panted, nails digging into Sasuke's back in desperation, feeling his whole body flaming up, fueled by Sasuke's own flame as if infected by it. "I need you. Fuck, I can't…"

"You have me," Sasuke whispered, biting down on the junction between neck and shoulder, causing Naruto to gasp, the sudden pain sending a jolt of simultaneous pleasure all the way down to his already hard cock. "I'm right here."

"It's not enough…" Naruto whimpered, like a plea, pressing himself more to Sasuke so that their erections came into full contact. "I want you, always…I want you…I can't…"

He moved both his hands to grab for Sasuke's face in them before forcing their mouths together once more, Sasuke accepting the brutal attack with a feral groan, his teeth scrapping Naruto's lips possessively but not hard enough to bruise.

The world was spinning out of control. In Naruto's mind, all he could think about was how much he needed this intimacy with Sasuke, and how much more of everything he wanted from him at that point. It all felt too good, too much, and it was too late to stop now. It was always like that with them, that sudden, all-consuming and unstoppable urge that seemed impossible to quell.

Naruto wasn't really thinking anymore when he leaped; holding on to Sasuke's shoulders for dear life, and with practiced ease wrapped his legs around his waist. Sasuke was momentarily caught off guard, stumbling a bit and letting out a complaint against Naruto's persistent mouth, but soon recovered and grabbed Naruto's hips securely, and the next thing he knew, the blond was being carried backwards and his back was colliding against the cold tiled wall behind him as he was slammed**,**none too gently**,** against it with Sasuke trapping him completely with his body.

An almost faded part of his conscience reminded him that the Uchiha had just said he was feeling exhausted, but since he was acting as eager as he was – and surprisingly energetic, too – he didn't dwell on it too much.

In spite of how much he liked to fuck Sasuke and having him moaning and panting for him, there was no denying the truth that Naruto also loved being fucked by Sasuke. Being bottom was more painful than he had ever expected, but that sort of pain also brought a level of pleasure Naruto had never experienced before when he had been together with Hinata. He wasn't sure if it was the pain, the pleasure or the feel of his lover inside him that made him willing. Maybe it was all of that and more. Maybe**,** he was a bit of a masochist, or maybe**,** everything just felt so immensely good because he was doing it with Sasuke.

Just as much as he desired to top, there were days when he craved the affection of being taken. He didn't care as long as he and Sasuke could connect with each other and lose themselves into that blissful oblivion of lust, that intensity that was theirs alone, because whenever he and Sasuke made love, the planets aligned, the world stopped spinning and everything became perfect. It was the kind of happiness and completion Naruto had never believed possible.

It still amazed him how fluidly everything was processed between them, and there was no need for words anymore, or unnecessary time wasting.

The position was familiar to both of them, so Naruto held on tighter with his arms and legs so Sasuke didn't have to support him with his own arms alone. Sasuke then released one of his thighs and broke the desperate kiss to catch his ragged breathing, and Naruto all but attacked his earlobe, sucking and licking it and eliciting a low moan from the raven. He could feel Sasuke struggling urgently with himself, and soon enough, the tip of Sasuke's hardness was probing at his entrance. Naruto didn't have the time to feel worried that he hadn't been prepared and that they weren't using any lubrication – he didn't care, he felt as ready as he would ever be. They both knew the routine well enough, and the tension was so heavy that it was obvious that more than wanting to make love, they needed to just _feel _each other as much as possible, and as quickly as possible.

He relaxed his thighs slightly only so that he could fall down and allow Sasuke entrance, the raven pushing upwards at the same time with painful slowness to allow both them to get used to the roughness of it**,** until he was buried to the hilt. Naruto could feel the all too familiar stinging as his insides struggled to adapt to the intrusion. The uncomfortable feeling was making it difficult for him to breath, but at the same time, the pain caused a wave of adrenaline to rush through his veins. He could feel Sasuke's whole body pulsing, pressed flush against his, his steady breathing heavy and shaky in his ear.

Sasuke as grabbing his hips with both hands once more as he adjusted himself, letting out a strangled curse under his breath before he pulled out slightly and then shoved himself back in with full force, causing Naruto to gasp loudly and close his eyes. He bit his lip and buried his face on Sasuke's neck, panting harshly and lifting his hips just as Sasuke was pulling out once more. A steady pace was easily achieved, and soon nothing else mattered but that unbelievable friction they shared and the way their bodies seemed to fit so perfectly in spite of the apparently awkward position.

The square division was filled with the sounds of water hitting the floor, heavy panting and skin meeting skin. Once in a while, a moan could be heard, then a grunt, sometimes a needy whine.

Naruto knew they wouldn't last long, but it didn't matter. It didn't matter that he wanted to say so many things to Sasuke, or that he wanted desperately for them both to melt so they could be fused together. He wanted to feel this way forever. Every moment with Sasuke felt like it would last forever. And that was what Naruto clung to, with his every breath.

oOo

With a light smirk, Sasuke stifled a dry cackle and brought a red apple to his lips before opening his mouth and sinking his teeth in it as dark, observant eyes watched the amusing scene in front of him**,**of Naruto ordering around his three Gennin pupils that now formed Team 2 with him.

Sasuke was sitting underneath a tree on the training grounds not too far from the four with his back against the trunk, one of his legs stretched out, the other pulled to his chest with his arm resting loosely over it.

Even though summer was yet to come and the sky was covered with grey clouds, there was no wind and the air was stuffy, so Sasuke had removed his green vest, set it aside and rolled up the sleeves of his black sweater. It was almost 9 a.m., and he would soon have to get up and head to another part of the training grounds where Neji and the rest of the ANBU team would meet for a morning training session.

"But…Naruto-sensei, this isn't fair!" The girl in the team complained, getting down on her knees with a pout and tears in her light blue eyes. Yamanaka Kurome was her name, and she was the most docile of the three – or so Naruto said – with her ginger hair cut straight at shoulder length and a fragile frame. She pushed the skirt of her pink dress down even though she had black shorts underneath and placed her palms on the ground. "We said we were sorry already!"

In spite of her complaints, she adjusted her body and started doing what had been demanded of her, which had been to perform one hundred pushups. Not too far from her, there was a boy with light brown hair and brown eyes named Aburame Nobu who was also getting into position. From what Sasuke had seen so far, he was the kind of guy that was very quiet but that had quite the temper when pissed off. He was very smart, too, but tended to do things with an astounding low profile.

"Keep bitchin' and you'll have to do two hundred!" An imposing, angry Naruto growled with his arms crossed over his chest. He was standing with his left foot placed over yet another boy's back as he did his own push up with a vicious scowl on his handsome features. "Bitch some more and I might never let you go on a real mission."

The boy was Hyuuga Shinji, and he was Naruto's current worst nightmare.

Now, the blond strongly denied that his antipathy towards the boy had nothing to do with his semi hard feelings towards Neji – that had caused a slight skepticism towards all Hyuuga except Hinata – but Sasuke knew differently. Even if Neji had assured him that Shinji was a distant relative of his, the young boy was pretty much a younger, more arrogant version of him, with the same long, dark brown hair and the same smart, superior glassy eyes.

As he chewed lazily, Sasuke's gaze narrowed as he fixed it on Naruto – seldom did he see him this serious and he looked oddly mature in a very charming way. No, not charming, it was actually kind of sensual**,** the secure 'I-take-no-bullshit' way he held himself, so very different from the clumsy, silly Naruto he knew.

Not to say that Naruto didn't have a certain presence to him, Sasuke concluded with an internal snort. He was tall – as tall as Sasuke himself was – had strong, attractive features that were painfully expressive and had an air or righteousness about him that was very respectable – at least until he made some sort of stupid face or whined loudly about something. He was also well built without being overly muscular, which added to the positive physical attributes.

Sasuke swallowed the bit of apple and slowly licked his lips, his eyes never leaving his lover as thoughts of what had happened not even two hours before ran through his mind without warning. That quickie in the shower sure had been nice. He had woken up feeling like someone had beat the shit out of him during his sleep, but as soon as his body came into contact with Naruto's, somehow his energy seemed to have increased considerably.

Without really noticing it, Sasuke smiled at remembering Naruto's emotional outburst. For some reason, knowing that his friend felt that strongly about him made him feel weird inside. Naruto always managed to rile him up so easily and pull him along his emotional current.

The raven sighed, annoyed that he was feeling himself blush a little.

Even though he had felt better after having sex and eaten a good breakfast, he was still surprisingly hungry and back to feeling abnormally tired.

Sasuke tilted his head to the side, taking another sluggish bite on the apple. The kids had given Naruto a rough time on the first few days**,** having heard of who he was and that he was considered quite the klutz, especially Shinji. The boy had done everything in his power to apparently force Naruto to give up the team. That ridiculous plan of breaking into Naruto's apartment and stealing all his clothes had finally made Naruto snap. He had been shaken at first, but being as stubborn and proud as he was, he decided that those snotty brats would definitely not get the best out of him. Once his brain realized that he had the power to do whatever he had to do**,** to keep those kids in place, he was intent on using it.

Today**,**he was being especially evil, forcing the kids to do some heavy working out first thing in the morning**,**even though they still had to complete a mission pulling out weeds from an old lady's garden and fixing it afterwards. It was going to be tough on the kids, but it still amused Sasuke to no end.

He watched the scene displayed in front of him with mild interest. The weather was warm and provided a much appreciated soothing effect, and the position he was in was very comfortable. Sasuke didn't really notice his hand that held the apple falling to his lap as his eyes began to feel very heavy and his body started to relax more and more until it became almost impossible for him to grab hold of his consciousness, and he fell into a heavy sleep.

He was woken up by the feel of something pressed against his chest, shaking him lightly, so he re-opened his muddled eyes once more with great difficulty to see Naruto crouching down in front of him and smiling slightly.

"You're drooling." Naruto pointed out softly.

Sasuke then noticed that he was lying down even though he couldn't remember when that had happened and sat up with effort. Just like when he had first woken up that day, he felt completely beaten up, all his muscles screaming in exhaustion.

"I do not drool," he groaned, but still brought his fingers to his mouth and felt the left corner unmistakably wet, which he promptly wiped clean with his thumb with as much discretion as he could, making Naruto chuckle. "What time is it?"

"Time for you to get your ass up and meet your team," Naruto said simply. "I just saw that tall, bald guy passing by through the trees. At least**,**I think it was him."

"Yeah, that's probably Kamui," Sasuke nodded, stretching his arms over his head in hopes of losing some of the tension there. "I've got to go."

Sasuke got up slowly and picked up his green vest and his bag, Naruto getting up as well. When he was on his feet, the world seemed to spin a bit, or maybe it was him who was dizzy. Still, he tried the best he could to keep his demeanor as normal as possible, noticing vaguely that the kids behind Naruto were now doing sits ups and looking positively miserable.

"Hey," Naruto muttered, reaching out to touch Sasuke's chin and make him look his way. "You don't look so good. Do you want me to tell Neji that you need the day off? You've been pushing yourself too hard lately and then this morning…I feel guilty for instigating you, now you look ever worse."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's stupidity in thinking that he was feeling worse because of the sex when he wished he was feeling as good as he had while they were doing it.

"It's not your fault, and you know I'm never too tired for sex anyway," He dismissed easily, throwing the bag over his shoulder with impressive effort, but managing to act as casual as ever. "It's alright, Naruto. I'm alright, really."

The blond didn't seem convinced, but ended up nodding once anyway, his hand falling soothingly on his neck curve. Sasuke leaned forward and pressed their lips together gently.

"Gross!" A young voice yelled, and Naruto broke the kiss before heaving a heavy sigh. "This is not the kind of example you should give to your students, you know?"

Sasuke noticed that the Hyuuga brat was still sitting on the ground with his arms over his chest forming a cross, eyeing them with obvious embarrassment and disgust. The Aburame one didn't even dare to look, and the girl was blushing hard, her eyes closed as she continued with the sit ups.

"Did I say you could open your pile holes?" Naruto said, turning to them with his hands on his hips.

"No, Sir!" Kurome and Nobu both exclaimed at once, the girl adding "We're just doing what you told us to do, Sir!"

"Hyuuga, fifty more when you're done with that." Naruto ordered, making the long haired boy open his mouth to protest before he thought better of it and closed it.

"I'll never like this kid, I swear," Naruto mumbled, once he turned back to Sasuke. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes, I'll be fine."

"I'm going to hang out with Ero-Sennin later, so I'll let you rest today, you need it," Naruto muttered, preening Sasuke's sweater almost shyly. "Let me know if you need something."

"I will," the other agreed, with a very light smile. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

They went their separate ways after another small parting peck – Naruto**,** taking Sasuke's advice and choosing to just ignore Shinji's disgusted noises. Once his back was facing his boyfriend, Sasuke let his mask fall as his face contorted in confused fatigue while he made his way to the appointed area where his team would be.

Why the hell was he feeling so tired? Why did his muscles hurt? He was as healthy as healthy could get, and yet**,** he'd never felt so worn out before, except when he went on tough missions that usually ended with him in the hospital. Maybe it was some kind of virus, or the flu?

He honestly didn't want Naruto to worry about him – the blond knew Sasuke never got sick, so he'd definitely make a huge deal out of it in that empty head of his.

Sasuke just wanted the day to be over quickly so he could go home and rest, but hell, he wouldn't take the day off because of some insignificant cold or whatever. He was confident that he would be able to train with his ANBU team as usual because he was a tough guy, and he could make it through anything.

oOo

Like every other Shinobi team, the ANBU used Konoha's training grounds for their everyday routine training. While the Hokage's residence possessed several small and very useful Dojos that could be used whenever an elite Shinobi required it, Neji himself only used them whenever he needed to train his team on techniques that were**,** by law**,** needed to be kept a secret and unseen by the general public eye. The Hyuuga strongly believed that in order to find interior peace and the perfect balance between body and mind, a human being had to be in contact with nature and learn how to become intimate and comfortable with its surroundings. The wind, the trees, the weather conditions – everything could be considered a simultaneous advantage and disadvantage when facing an enemy and Neji wanted his team to be able to make full use of their surroundings in battle, no matter the weather conditions.

His underlings never questioned his decisions or his methods. They respected him and looked up to him, probably because the stoic male never once rejected his teammates' opinions and suggestions. Neji knew that his position placed him above many other highly trained Shinobi, but that didn't make him perfect or indestructible, and he knew that he was still far too young to know the ways the of the world. Because he was the second youngest in their team of five, he was very careful on how he dealt with his eldest comrades.

It was a sunny yet chilly morning in the middle of the week, and Neji had set his team in two pairs for the usual warm up session. They were just doing a simple exercise of attack/defense, where one offended and the other defended until Neji told them to switch. As they sparred, he calmly walked around them to watch attentively and occasionally make observations or corrections.

Once in a while – or more often that he'd like to admit – he watched Sasuke's training.

For some reason, Neji felt that something about the Uchiha was off that day.

Sasuke was the type of person who was naturally good at everything he did, yet, still worked hard to become better. When Tsunade-sama had informed Neji that he was to begin preparing Sasuke for the position of captain, the long haired one had felt simultaneously proud and sour. He was glad Sasuke had evolved so quickly, but becoming captain also meant he was going to leave their team and lead his own.

The raven didn't show any particular enthusiasm and kept his own pace, clearly not wanting to rush his arrival to the top. It was no news that Sasuke was exceptionally good, but Neji knew he was still too emotionally unstable to be captain, and this, mixed up with his general indifference towards important things and his schooled, almost mechanical methods made him a dangerous choice, for now at least. Sasuke was aware of this, reason why he was so focused on taking it slow and trying to learn. Being ANBU wasn't all about being cold blooded. Team work was over rated, but so was working alone. While facing danger in that line of work, the mission was more important than teammates, but it was imperative that one knew when to devote himself to the mission, and when to do it for his teammates because no life should be wasted.

It was because Neji knew Sasuke far too well in battle that he could sense his almost imperceptible flaws all the time, and more so on that particular day. Sasuke was slower than usual, his eyes seemed less focused and a thin layer of sweat was already forming on his furrowed brow, which was unusual considering they were just warming up and generally only began sweating after about half an hour through training.

When he strolled by him, Neji poked Sasuke's temple once with two fingers to catch his attention. "Focus, Uchiha."

"I _am_ focusing!" Sasuke snapped irritably, the momentary distraction almost earning him a punch to the face, but he managed to evade it just in time, leaping backwards. Neji knew Sasuke was aware of his own mistakes, thus his sour mood and obvious frustration at himself.

"Of course you are." Neji said condescendingly in spite of seeing perfectly well how abnormally tired he looked**,** even though**,** the exercise was keeping his cheeks rosy. "If you're feeling under the weather, just take a break."

"I'm _fine_." Sasuke hissed, not even bothering to look at his captain as he proceeded to evade his comrade, Kamui's attacks.

Neji huffed, feeling his temper boil slightly, but still refrained from commenting, instead choosing to wait with his back leaning against a nearby tree and see how far Sasuke's stubbornness would go. He had sensed something weird in his chakra, something that hadn't been there before, but he refrained from using his Byakugan. Besides, it wasn't just him who had noticed Sasuke's unusual performance – Kamui kept on attacking him as he was supposed to, but there was an air of hesitance about him as he did so.

It was then that Kamui managed to land a vicious punch to Sasuke's stomach. Even Neji could see that the older bald man hadn't meant to deliver the blow so aggressively since his face had clearly contorted in shock as soon as his fist hit the raven, but, in his defense, on a different day Sasuke would've defended it without a doubt, and every single person on that team knew that.

Sasuke was sent flying backwards a few meters, but managed to quickly – albeit shakily – straighten his body in midair and land on his feet, sandals dragging on the ground as inertia still forced his body backwards in a crouching position. He stopped not too far from Neji and tried to stand straight, but instead ended up leaning forwards, hands on his knees as he heaved violently and what was his processed breakfast hit the ground all at once, making a heavy and disgusting sound that startled the Hyuuga. Kitano and Mika, who had been doing the same exercise, stopped what they were doing to look, now four pairs of eyes glued on Sasuke, who was promptly spitting out the rest of the regurgitated food, head tilted down.

It wasn't uncommon for one to throw up during morning trainings because they moved a lot before finishing their digestion properly. However, such things never happened to Sasuke, least of all caused by a punch, even to the stomach. It was something that Shinobi were used to, so it was normal to recover quickly from it, which made it obvious to anyone that Sasuke wasn't alright. Neji stared at his prostrated back, noticing the visible tremors of his body, and for a brief moment, he was caught off guard at seeing his former lover so distraught. His instincts told him to move and offer some comfort, his heart clenching with worry, but his professional side kept him in his place.

"Shit, Uchiha," Kamui said, his expression a mixture of surprise and guilt. "I didn't mean to be so rough, but I honestly thought you'd be able to dodge that!"

Sasuke didn't answer, only remained in the same position, his fists clenched around the fabric of his pants as he panted heavily.

Neji could feel his team throwing skeptical looks his way.

"Sasuke," he called out, not moving from his place. "Sit down for a while and get your shit together."

Sasuke gulped several times, and then straightened up, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"I'm fine." He said, once again, voice raspy, and from where Neji stood, he could see his teammate's profile and the way his eyes narrowed in obvious self-annoyance. "I just got distracted for a while."

"You don't look so good," Mika replied**,** her brown eyebrows knitted together. "You shouldn't push yourself so hard, Sasuke."

Instead of replying, the pale young man merely made an intelligible sound with the back of his throat and wiped his sweaty brow with a wrist as he walked towards his sparring partner once more and assumed a fighting stance. Kamui threw an inquisitive look at their captain, but Neji merely shrugged. He'd let Sasuke do as he wished because the Uchiha was thickheaded and took a while to understand his own boundaries**,** and would not give up until he was on the brink of death.

"Alright, it's time to switch," Neji muttered in his usual calm but demanding tones. "We'll do that for five minutes and then start the actual training. There's an important mission coming soon."

Sasuke kept silent, his dark eyes trained in Kamui almost viciously while the rest of the team grunted hesitantly in affirmation.

It was Sasuke's turn to attack while Kamui defended. Sasuke didn't waste any time in moving, fists aiming with impressive speed at his partner's face and his weak points with ferociousness. Kamui evaded the offenses with quick reflexes, face scrunched up in concentration as he tried his best not to recoil.

Neji could see Sasuke clinging desperately to his own concentration, putting all his efforts into doing the routine movements, but his muscles kept trembling, his arms were still careless and unnaturally clumsy and he was having difficulty in controlling his breathing.

Not long after it had started, Sasuke attempted to kick Kamui's neck. The action was weird to watch, because he only managed to lift his leg up to the taller man's waist before said leg dropped heavily, Sasuke's foot hitting the ground with a dry sound, and the next thing Neji knew, Sasuke was leaning forward again and throwing up the leftovers of whatever it was that still lay in his stomach, Kamui looking at him, green eyes wide with revulsion and confusion.

For the second time, the rest of the team stopped what they were doing to watch Sasuke. The torrent of liquidities stopped after a few seconds after which Sasuke dry heaved a few more times, desperate to free himself of the nausea he was feeling.

Feeling all his nerves on edge, Neji waited to make sure Sasuke was done before calling out "Sasuke!"

Sasuke let out a long, frustrated groan and straightened up with as much dignity as he could, looking over his shoulder at his captain.

"What?!" He snapped irritably, as if it were Neji's fault that he was feeling miserable.

"Don't 'what' me, Uchiha," Neji snapped back as he uncrossed his arms, managing just in time**,** to keep his cool after the sudden horror of seeing how sickly pale Sasuke had become and how much he was sweating. He held himself with stubborn pride, but his body language made him look like he might pass out soon. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

He walked over to Sasuke, who held his gaze defiantly.

"I'm warming up, what does it look like I'm doing?" Sasuke retorted coolly grinding his teeth.

"You're making a fool out of yourself," Neji hissed, feeling his temper flare once he stood face to face with his companion. "You are far from fine, and you're disrupting your team's concentration. I suggest you take a few minutes to rest. Right _now._"

"I don't want to res…"

"Don't defy my authority!" Neji snarled, losing his patience. "You will do as I say or I'll make sure to kick your ass so hard you will _beg_ to lie down for a month."

Sasuke glared at him in utter anger and humiliation, but Neji was far too familiar with those eyes to be intimidated by them.

"_Go_."

After a few seconds of defiant glaring, Sasuke turned on his heels and marched towards the spot where they had left their belongings and sat gracelessly on the ground.

Neji sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, feeling emotionally drained. His worry and unease towards Sasuke had woken up all sorts of odd feelings inside of him, memories of certain cravings and fears he was still trying to let go of, and it was exhausting. Seeing Sasuke like that made his heart ache, the intensity of it just a bit too overwhelming.

"Will he be alright?" Kitano asked in a whisper – the team had gathered around their captain, all of them anxious and eager to do something but fearing Sasuke's bad temper directed at them.

"He'll be fine, as soon as he gets it through his brain that he's not well," Neji replied, regaining his composure. "I'll go check up on him and see if I get him to spill the beans about what's wrong with him."

"Is there something we can do?" the only woman, Mika, asked, looking at the youngest of their team sideways.

"I don't think so, but I'll let you know if I need help." Neji declined. "You lot continue with the warm up. Kamui, you be the defensive against Mika and Kitano."

The three nodded obediently and Neji promptly made his way towards Sasuke. He almost stopped in his tracks, though, when he saw the raven sitting on the ground with his legs crossed Indian style, munching on a peach like he was starving and hated the fruit for it.

"You just threw up," the long haired one pointed out dryly once he had kneeled in front of him. "What in heaven's name are you doing?"

"I don't know," Sasuke snarled in an equal tone, shrugging almost childishly. "I'm hungry."

"You're just going to throw up again."

"Whatever."

Neji rolled his eyes in exasperation and snatched the half-eaten peach from Sasuke's hands.

"Tell me what's wrong," he demanded, ignoring his underling's aggressive stare. "And don't lie to me or I'll make sure you are demoted from Shinobi work until I deem it fit."

Sasuke all but threw daggers at him with his dark, intense eyes but ended up huffing tiredly, an air of dejection marking his features.

"I don't know what's wrong," he said, burying his face in his hands. "I've been feeling like shit lately. I'm always hungry and I feel tired all the time, even when I wake up. I was feeling completely devastated this morning, but then I don't know what happened, Naruto and I got involved and all of a sudden I was feeling fine but...I don't know, after that the fatigue returned and...I don't know."

The long haired one bit his lip and reached out with his free hand to Sasuke's forehead, brushing it with the back of his palm and feeling the sweat there. He was warmer than normal, but not exactly burning up.

Sasuke lifted his head up and closed his eyes for a few seconds as if comforted by the contact, breathing through his nose a few times before staring at Neji again with tired apathy. "Also, the seal...it's been acting weird."

Neji's eyebrows shot up, an unexplainable feeling of unease clawing at his soul and he let his hand move away.

"You should've told me about the seal; I noticed that there's something off about your chakra signature," Neji muttered, frowning, as he placed the peach on the ground. "Our appointment wasn't due until later this afternoon, but I want to look at it now."

Sasuke nodded and unzipped his green vest with slow movements, so Neji leaned forward to help him remove it and set it to the side, over Sasuke's brown bag. As usual, he waited for Sasuke to lift his black sweater up all the way to his chest, one hand keeping it up, the other supporting his weight on the ground as he leaned back.

As soon as Neji laid eyes on the seal, his heart skipped an unpleasant beat – it was showing without the presence of chakra, as if freshly painted in pitch black ink. That itself was as unusual as it got.

"How long has it been showing like this?" he inquired skeptically.

"A week, probably." Sasuke replied, frowning.

"Probably?" Neji hissed. "It wasn't like this three weeks ago! How can you not know…"

"I don't know, Neji!" Sasuke snarled irritably. "I don't look at myself in the mirror every single day, I don't make it a habit of looking down at my body, and I've been carrying this shit around for many months, so I'm sorry if I tend to forget that it exists!"

They glared at each other for a few seconds before Neji let out an infuriated huff. His frown deepened at his former lover, but without saying a word, he merely lowered his eyes to the seal and activated his Byakugan.

As soon as his vision changed and he was able to see the chakra channels inside Sasuke's body, horror struck him like a painful blow to the head, and he would've gasped in a most undignified way**,** had he not managed to hold his voice at the last second.

With eyes wide, he just stared, feeling his heartbeat increase as panic squeezed its way inside of him.

What was happening?

He breathed in and out a few times – and it was painful because his lungs felt incredibly constricted – forcing his brain to acknowledge what it was seeing so that he could snap out of his stupor and start to _think_ to figure out the right course of action.

He leaned closer on instinct, placing his hands on Sasuke's knees and allowed his eyes to rake over Sasuke's navel quickly.

No, there was no mistaking it.

Neji's muscles became so tense they began trembling.

The first thing he noticed was how the pouch-like container had been moved slightly upwards so that it was now almost underneath Sasuke's stomach – probably a result of Kamui's punch, which apparently had dislocated it slightly. Then, there was the huge difference in Sasuke's chakra color – while a few weeks previously it had been blue with red tinges here and there, now it was mainly blood red with light blue. Also what they had once supposed was a chakra container was currently absorbing _Sasuke's_ feeble chakra though the strings attached to his channels in inhuman quantities, which meant that Sasuke's supposed natural chakra's percentage was horrifyingly low – so low, in fact, that Neji feared that if Sasuke moved too much, he might actually be on the brink of death pretty soon.

What was the seal doing? Wasn't the container supposed to absorb other people's chakra and provide extra chakra for Sasuke? Was it absorbing Sasuke's chakra because of some sort of malfunction? Also, shouldn't there be a limit to how much chakra the container could hold? Or maybe it was filling up first to provide a burst of energy for Sasuke afterwards? Or maybe it was supposed to suck Sasuke's energy completely? Maybe the container was supposed to blow up, like some sort of bomb?

This was bad. Neji's frantic mind struggled to think coherently and try to see a good side to what was happening, but not even his logical mind could find one, so he kept picturing the worst case scenarios in his head.

Perhaps the priestess's idea had been to kill Sasuke all along, designing that cursed seal to trick them into believing it was beneficial when in fact it was supposed to destroy its bearer.

"Fuck…" Neji whispered shakily.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked confusedly as his captain got up at once.

"The container is absorbing your chakra," Neji explained hurriedly, as he looked around and noticed that the rest of the team was still sparring. "_Your chakra_, Sasuke. Your levels are increasingly low. We have to get you to the hospital at once to see Sakura. Kitano!" Neji called out coolly, causing the other three to stop what they were doing to look at him. "I'm taking Sasuke to the hospital. Uzumaki Naruto is on area 5 of the training grounds; go call him immediately."

"What? No**!**" Sasuke exclaimed, straightening up and throwing Neji an anxious look the Hyuuga was unfamiliar with. "Why would you call him, he's probably already on his way to his mission with the kids, I…"

"He's your lover, I'm sure that, being the way he is, he would like to be informed of something like this." Neji said, narrowing his eyes at him, fists clenching in frustration. He just wanted to take Sasuke to somewhere safe, where he could be taken care of properly and**,** hopefully**,**figure out that what was happening was just some sort of virus interfering with the seal or something, and that it could be fixed. It _had_ to be fixed, because no one could live normally with such low chakra levels without endangering their lives.

Sasuke's expression was one of guilt as he bit his lip.

"Naruto told me to talk to you about the seal, I was the one who slacked off because it wasn't affecting me at the time," He explained, in a murmur. "I don't want him to worry, Neji. Please."

Neji let out a groan of sheer helplessness, Kitano**,** waiting to see what Neji would say. Sasuke was so fucking difficult in the most inconvenient of times, and if there was one thing that Neji did not want to deal with, was Naruto yelling at him for not telling him that Sasuke was in desperate need of medical care, consequentially**,** probably accusing him of not doing it because he wanted to be by Sasuke's side instead of him – which wasn't exactly a lie. Not that Naruto would ever be that purposefully mean, but Sasuke was Sasuke, and who knew what Naruto would do or say, when it came to him?

However, even if Naruto was Neji's friend, Sasuke was Neji's…well, he was someone important, and Neji, being soft hearted towards him, just had to respect his wishes.

"Very well," he agreed, turning to his team. "The training will be suspended for today. The three of you, report to the Jounin station and see if they need your services. I'm taking Sasuke with me."

oOo

Sakura's heels clanked loudly though the corridor of the hospital as she hurriedly made her way to her office, her white garments flowing behind her.

One of the nurses had interrupted her daily check up on the pediatric wing to inform her that Hyuuga Neji had brought Uchiha Sasuke to see her, and that it looked like it was urgent. The girl suggested that they sent Sasuke-kun to see another doctor if Sakura was busy, but Sakura declined and quickly found someone to replace her.

For some reason, as soon as she had heard that Sasuke-kun needed her, she had felt the immediate need to be there for him, something very unpleasant causing her gut to twitch, like a forewarning that something was very wrong.

When she made it to her office, she found Sasuke-kun lying on the hammock and looking so worn out and sickly white she felt her own cheeks palling considerably. Neji was sitting on a chair next to him, talking with him in a low voice, but it was clear the raven was struggling to stay awake.

"What happened?" Sakura asked, as she quickly made her way to Sasuke-kun's side, Neji getting up at once and moving the chair out of the way.

"I'm not sure, but the seal is showing and the chakra container is sucking all of Sasuke's chakra," Neji explained curtly, his voice filled with doubts and worries even though he was trying to look calm and collected. "His levels are very low. I had to carry him on my back all the way here in fear that something might happen if he wasted his energy in walking. I've been trying to keep him awake, I don't know if that's a good idea or not."

Sakura bit her lip and looked down at her crush. Sasuke-kun's dark eyes blinked up at her, and he looked frighteningly calm in spite of being on verge of passing out. There was a thick layer of perspiration covering his face and neck.

"He's been feeling hungry and tired for a few days now," Neji proceeded, as Sakura grabbed the Uchiha's wrist with one hand to check his pulse, the other pressing itself on his forehead to check his temperature. "Kamui, one of my underlings, punched him in the stomach during warm ups and I'm afraid the container has moved a bit, it's almost stuck to his stomach. He threw up a lot."

Sasuke-kun's pulse was faster than normal.

"He's sweating a lot, but I don't think he has a fever," Sakura said urgently. She moved Sasuke-kun's hands away from his belly where they had been resting and he let her, groaning a bit for some unknown reason. She then pulled his sweater upwards to reveal his abdominal area and confirm what Neji had informed her of: the seal was showing vividly.

She gathered chakra in her hands and placed one above the seal without really touching skin – immediately, she felt it pull her own chakra with incredible force – while the other one hovered over Sasuke-kun's chest. There was a massive amount of chakra gathered in the general area of the seal, but her other hand could barely feel traces of energy. They were there, but were very weak.

That was not all she felt, though, and the new sensation in the palms of her hands made her let out a small squeal, as she recoiled them and press her closed fists to her own chest. She had felt something else coming from Sasuke's body, coming from the place where the chakra container was, and it was something that she, as a medic, was familiar with – something she was one of the best of her age at detecting.

Her eyes became huge as she stared at the seal.

"Sakura?" Neji replied, anxiously. "What is it? What did you feel?"

Sakura all but blinked. It couldn't be, not in a million years. She had felt it noticeably, it wasn't something that could be mistaken for something else, but…no, it couldn't be. Could it?

Sakura shook her head, trying to keep her thoughts in check. She could feel a huge amount of chakra from the container; the sheer power of it was intoxicating, and it was a mixture of Sasuke's chakra with Naruto's chakra and…other kinds of chakra. But the main feel came from both their chakras, which wasn't surprising, she had felt it before since they were lovers and Sasuke tended to absorb more of Naruto's chakra than anyone else's. Still, there was something off about it, something different, like…a different source of energy that belonged to the two of them alone.

It was the seal's doing, there had to be a logic explanation for it, something completely different from her first instinctual assumption. Yes, that had to be it.

What she felt hadn't been real**;** she must have mistaken it for something else, surely. Was something wrong with her perception? The shock had made her senses inaccurate.

Something like that wasn't possible at all.

"Neji-san," She muttered, her lower lip quivering slightly. "What else did you see with your eyes?"

"Nothing," Neji said at once. "I could've missed something, but all I could see were his chakra channels and how the container is sucking the life out of him. Why? What did you…"

"I have to perform a few tests on him," Sakura interrupted, managing to keep her voice semi-steady, looking at Sasuke-kun's scrunched up features. "I'll need to put him to sleep so I can try to get him out of danger and find a way to stabilize his chakra levels."

"An induced coma?" Neji hissed, angrily. "Are you crazy?"

"It's the only solution I can think of right now!" Sakura retorted back. "It's the only way to make sure he doesn't waste energy. Hopefully**,** I can think of something to stop the container from sucking in his chakra like a leech once he's out of danger, but right now, this is all I've got!"

Neji bit his lip, not pleased with her idea at all, but ended up nodding.

"What can I do?" He asked impatiently.

"Right now he needs a chakra transfusion, and if we're lucky, it'll stabilize him for a while," Sakura, explained, breathing in and out slowly. "We'll need to transfer some of our chakra to him before anything else. Then, you're going to Tsunade-sama and explain to her everything, I need her in view on this; he may need some kind of surgery, probably to seal the strings of the container that are linked to his channels, but I don't want to be impulsive.

"Fuck…" Sasuke moaned, his words slurred. "The moron is going to…freak out."

Sakura pressed her lips together, wondering if Sasuke was aware of his own condition; of how serious it was, because instead of worrying about himself, he was worrying about Naruto freaking out. How typical. She would've sighed in exasperation if she didn't feel as hesitant and fearful as she did.

"Sasuke-kun, you can sleep if you want to," she mumbled, summoning chakra in her hands once more and now placing both her hands over Sasuke's smooth chest. She attempted to ignore _the feel _that had assaulted her before, the one that made the palms of her hands tingle right now as if trying to reaffirm itself. "It'll be fine. Don't worry about anything, just rest."

The Uchiha eyed her apathetically for a few seconds before his eyes closed and he fell into a heavy slumber in a matter of seconds.

For the first time in her life, Sakura truly prayed that her faculties were wrong.

TBC…

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	4. Chapter Three: The Thing

**A/N: **This chapter was a necessary evil. That's all I have to say.

Un-beta'd for the time being. Once it is beta'd, it might suffer a few changes, but not anything important to the plot itself.

Thank you to all of you who have reviewed and faved! I hope you all got my replies ;)

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**Chapter Three: The Thing**

In spite of himself, Neji sniffed a bit, both hands squeezing possessively one of Sasuke's.

The last remaining Uchiha was lying on the hospital bed, sleeping heavily on his back with one hand over his stomach and his face turned to Neji, who was sitting on an old chair beside him, his pearly eyes glued to Sasuke's handsome and peaceful face. Neji had always enjoyed watching him sleep, even if it wasn't something he had ever admitted to him. Sasuke always looked either too mature, or too young during slumber, depending on how stressed out he was, or how happy he was, and there was always an odd stoicism about him that was beautiful to watch.

Around them, the 'beep' of the machines connected to Sasuke could be heard. The last rays of sun were still filtering through the window in front of him, on the other side of Sasuke's bed, a gentle wind making the white curtains sway gently.

Frowning at his own vulnerability, Neji sniffed once more and blinked the stinginess in his eyes away before letting his forehead fall to their joined hands. He could smell the distinct odor that was Sasuke, and it made him feel all the more hopeless.

He still couldn't believe the true nature of his friend's 'disease'. It seemed stupid, ridiculous, absurd and, most of all, _impossible,_ but it was there, he had seen it with his own eyes. How he had managed to not notice it until then was a complete mystery to him, and he blamed himself.

How _could_ he not have seen it coming? When he looked at the seal, at what it was doing inside his former lover's body, he should've realized what was happening, and maybe, just maybe, they could've avoided this before it had become too dangerous to interfere.

It was all his fault, even if the Hokage had told him that he had no way of even dreaming about the possibility of something like that happening.

He should've known something was about to happen when he saw that red chakra in Sasuke's chakra pathways. He had warned him, but of course, Sasuke and Naruto were both male, they wouldn't really worry about taking precaution all that much. Not _of course_, because it had been very rare for Neji and Sasuke to not wear protection during sex when they had been together, and the thought brought a pang of bitterness to Neji's heart. Naruto was different from him, and so were Sasuke's feelings for the blond Shinobi, so it wasn't like he couldn't blame him. Still, it hurt.

In a way, the fact that the seal had allowed a thing like that to happen to Sasuke (and while he had been with Naruto) was kind of heartbreaking, not that Neji appreciated the situation – quite the contrary, he was horrified and scared beyond himself for Sasuke's well-being – but he couldn't help the feeling of loss and revulsion that seemed to rotten him to the very core.

Was he a terrible person for feeling this way? For wishing he was on Naruto's place? For wishing that he could be the other side of Sasuke's predicament?

He felt horrible. There were no boundaries for his worry and his fear.

For three days, Sasuke had slept, and for the same amount of time, the Hokage, Sakura and Shizune had secretly examined him thoroughly, looking for answers. When things hadn't made sense, they called Neji to see for himself, and his new found clarity of mind had also allowed his eyes to perceive something he hadn't noticed before.

The four of them had then spent that whole day checking out the results, exchanging ideas, theories, and most of all, solutions.

However, all those hours seemed a waste, completely useless, because all the so called 'solutions' seemed worthless.

Neji wanted desperately to help Sasuke, to find a way to tell him that everything would be okay, but he didn't know how to.

The door slid open behind him, before a presence entered the room, sliding it back closed.

A few seconds of awkward silence settled between them, during which Neji didn't move from his position. Usually, he would've been concerned about being seen in such a compromising position, but he was feeling too emotional to care, and he expected the pink haired girl to understand him. After all, she loved Sasuke, too, even she had never had the chance to have him, like Neji had. In a way, he selfishly felt that he had more rights than she did.

"Naruto will be here soon, I think," Sakura whispered softly. "I'm not exactly throwing you out, but I don't think it's wise for him to see you here after the tantrum he threw the other day."

Neji heaved a small sigh. On the day he had brought his underling to the hospital, his conscious had nagged him and he had actually ended up going over Naruto's at the end of the day to tell him what had happened. Naruto had immediately vanished from his place wearing only green boxers and an orange t-shirt without saying a word, and Neji just knew that all hell would break lose.

As expected, when he got back to the hospital, he found Naruto promptly being his loud self and demanding to see Sasuke and know what the hell was wrong with him. When Sakura had appeared, he had then told both her and Neji that they had no right to keep stuff like that hidden from him. He had been positively pissed off about the fact that he had only been informed of Sasuke being in the hospital – and in an induced coma, of all things – at the end of the day.

Neji, obviously, knew this would happen, and Naruto's reaction was excusable. It was Tsunade who had managed to feed him some bullshit to calm him down before letting him see Sasuke.

Naruto had spent the whole night beside him, unmindful of his attire or his naked feet. The next morning, the Hokage had to force him to go home and get some rest so he could go back to work, claiming that Sasuke was fine, he just needed the rest. After much protesting, the blond had agreed, and left, but had still dropped by the hospital several times a day to check up on his boyfriend. He and Neji rarely crossed paths, but from what Sakura told him, Naruto was very worried and restless.

Even though it made Neji feel reassured that Sasuke had someone so devoted to him, it disgusted him, too.

He breathed in deeply through his nose, straightening up and looking at Sasuke without letting go of his hand.

"Has Tsunade-sama said anything, yet?" he asked, not looking at the young medic.

"They're going to wake him up tomorrow," Sakura explained, her voice giving away her hesitation as she took a few steps towards the bed. "She wants to talk to him alone, explain things to him one on one, so as to not…overwhelm him, I suppose."

Neji nodded, just as Sakura came to a halt beside him.

"I'll drop by in the morning then, and wait for them to talk," he said firmly, one of his hands reaching out to brush one of Sasuke silky bangs away from his face. "He'll need the support."

When he ran the back of his fingers over Sasuke's cheek, the girl shifted uncomfortably, but he paid her no mind.

"What are we going to tell Naruto?" he asked, in barely a whisper. Sakura swallowed hard before replying.

"Tsunade-sama has told him that Sasuke-kun has caught a virus that has affected his chakra levels due to the intervention of the seal, thus the necessity for an induced coma," she muttered, seriously. "Apparently, Naruto has noticed the changes in the seal, because he said that he's been telling Sasuke-kun to check it out. However, if she didn't feel the need to tell him yet, then I don't think _we_ should, either. It's up to Sasuke-kun to decide how he wants to deal with it, even if this concerns Naruto, as well."

She was right, and Neji made a noise with the back of his throat in agreement.

Another moment of silence stretched out before she felt the need to speak again.

"I wonder what he'll decide to do…" she said, clearly agitated, her voice quivering a bit with uncontained emotion. "I mean…this'll be a major blow to his pride, and yet…things don't look bright for him, no matter what he chooses to do."

Neji couldn't find the will to reply. In all honesty, he had a feeling he knew exactly what Sasuke would do, because the Uchiha wasn't someone to risk something without gaining something in return, or at least trying to.

The only thing Neji knew, at this point, was that he would be there for him, no matter what, to the very end, if needed, whether Sasuke liked it or not.

"Neji-san," Sakura said. The hand she placed on his shoulder was shaking violently, searching for reassurance, but not meaning to offer any. "No matter how we look at it, we have to…we need to be prepared to lose him, even if he ends up surviving all of this."

Neji huffed disdainfully.

"I will never be prepared for something like that," he said, with barely contained coldness, narrowing his eyes at Sasuke resolutely. "Losing him is not an option in my book."

She squeezed his shoulder tightly, and Neji heard her sob gently.

He couldn't deal with this, he wasn't up for having to take other people's emotional breakdowns when he had his own to deal with.

He promptly got up and she broke the contact. From the corner of his eye, he could see her rubbing her eyes frustratingly, but he did nothing to try and ease her mind.

Not really caring about her presence, or if she would, eventually, tell on him to Naruto, he leaned over Sasuke and planted a small, chase kiss on the corner of his mouth, the contact comforting in an almost innocent way, cruelly reminding him of exactly how much he missed those lips.

He then turned to her, who was looking at him with tears shining in her minty eyes as she bit her lip, a soft pink tainting her cheeks.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, nodding once in farewell, knowing he was acting a lot more confident and calm than he felt.

She nodded back, almost shyly, and he walked pass her to leave.

oOo

When Sasuke woke up, his whole body felt terribly heavy and his mouth was desert dry. He felt like he had slept for days, his head fuzzy and confused, but at the same time, there was a laziness about him that made it feel like he hadn't rested at all. But he was feeling a lot better than he was before being put to sleep.

There was a young nurse already in the room, and she smiled at him with a heavy blush in her cheeks before informing him that he had been sleeping for three days, that morning being the start of the fourth. When he asked her in a raspy voice if she knew what was wrong with him, she only shook her head from side to side, saying that the doctor hadn't left his information chart in the room, and that she only had orders to take care of him for the time being.

Sasuke wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of the hospital and go home – he wanted to go back to his normal life as soon as possible.

After the nurse removed the needles and tubes that connected him to the machines around him, she helped him up, and that's when he noticed that there was small straw basket of tomatoes resting on his bedside table, with a note attached to it, written in Naruto's clumsy handwriting that said 'Get better soon, bastard!'

Sasuke couldn't help the small smile that formed in his lips. In a way, he was thankful that Naruto wasn't there to see him wake up, because he wasn't sure how well he'd handle getting back to consciousness with his lover's loud words of worry and excitement.

Not without a bit of annoyance, Sasuke noticed that the girl was helping him move from the bed to a wheel chair, and he knew he wasn't a fucking invalid, so why the hell did he need a damned wheel chair for? He just wanted to stretch his legs and warm up his sore muscles, but the nurse insisted that she had strict orders to not let him exert himself, and no matter how many times Sasuke told her that he was _just fine_, she didn't budge. It was only because he really wanted to take a shower – and she didn't look too keen on allowing him to have one on his terms – that he ended up sighing and sitting down on the damned thing.

To his immense exasperation, the girl wanted to help him bathe, too, but the nasty, angry look he gave her quickly made her change her mind, so she quietly stood outside while he showered. By the time he returned to his room, he was feeling refreshed, especially because he was wearing familiar sweat pants and a t-shirt instead of the hospital garments. He'd have to thank Naruto for that, too.

The girl helped him get back to a bed with new sheets, but since it was a hot day, he didn't want to get under the covers, so he just sat there with his back against not so comfortable pillows with his legs stretched out in front of him. At least she didn't connect him to any more machines.

As the nurse left to see about his lunch, Sasuke grabbed one tomato from the basket beside him and munched on it absently while looking out the window, noticing that, from the position of the sun in the bright blue sky, it was probably a bit after lunch time.

Only after the first bite did he realize that he was really hungry, so he picked up another tomato, and then another. The next thing he knew, half the basket had been consumed, and he was beginning to wonder where the hell his lunch was.

A middle aged woman brought a tray of insipid looking food. She offered to feed him, but he only quirked one eyebrow at her as if asking 'are you serious?', and she smiled and left him to it.

Immersed in solitude once more, Sasuke ate. He hated hospital food, but his stomach had become very demanding lately, it seemed, and, apparently, less picky than before, as well. Absently, he wondered if it had anything to do with the seal.

His memory was vague about the events that led him to the hospital in the first place. He remembered the conversation he had with Neji about how the chakra recipient was consuming most of his chakra, but after that, it was all a blurry mess in his exhausted mind, his last image being of Sakura looking down on him with surprise and horror in her eyes.

Once he finished his meal, Sasuke set the tray at the foot of his bed and sighed, placing his hand over his belly in a relaxed demeanor.

In the last few months he had felt something changing about him, but in the last couple of weeks, that change seemed to have been more noticeable, and by trying to ignore this he had put himself in a dangerous situation. If he had to be honest with himself, he had no idea what that 'something' was, but he felt it in his body, in his very being. Since it had not affected his life until then, he had brushed it aside, and yet, now he was probably in a messy situation. Even if it hurt his ego to admit, he had been reckless, and now he was immensely angry at himself.

Hopefully, Sakura had found a reasonable explanation for it, and a way to reverse it, somehow. If not…well, he would have to take matters in his own hands and force the priestess to fix him once and for all, and politics be damned.

He couldn't afford to live with that damned seal if it was going to turn his life upside down and become an obstacle to him.

When the door of his room slid opened again, Sasuke turned his head to see who had just arrived only to set his eyes on the imposing figure of Tsunade.

She was looking serious, as usual, as she closed the door behind her. Sasuke straightened up and twisted his body so that he was sitting with his legs dangling from the edge of the bed, noticing that the busty woman was clutching a file to her chest.

"Hokage-sama," he acknowledged simply, offering her a curt and polite nod. With one hand alone, she grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and placed it beside the bed so that it was facing Sasuke.

"Uchiha," she replied back, in her usual professional tone, sitting down. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better than I was feeling when I first got here, at least." he said, with a light shrug.

"You certainly look healthier."

"I just want to know when I'm allowed to leave."

The Hokage eyed him intensely from head to toe, her eyes narrowing.

"You will be able to leave whenever you want, if you wish to do so," she said seriously, crossing one leg over the other in a falsely casual way. "However, we need to talk."

There was a tension about her that didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke, who shifted slightly in apprehension.

"Is my condition that serious?" he asked simply, keeping his cool, causing Tsunade's right eyebrow to twitch for some reason.

"Yes," she confirmed, with a curt nod. "Your _condition_ is, indeed, quite serious."

She extended the file she had brought along with her to him, who accepted it without a word. They exchanged a brief look – Sasuke tried to decipher the woman's thoughts, but to no avail – before breathing in deeply and looking down.

He had already prepared himself mentally for the worse, so it wasn't like he was particularly nervous. It could be bad, but not irreversibly so. Even if there was no hope for him…well, he was a Shinobi, and his life was permanently at risk, so this was no different. However, there was no denying that he'd be very pissed if he had to die so young in a hospital bed instead of it happening while fighting some powerful opponent out there, like he was supposed to.

Deciding that it was no use speculating, he opened the file, finding a small sheet of papers along with what seemed to be x-rays and the pictures of an ultrasound.

There seemed to be something off about these two, but he didn't really bother looking at them before knowing exactly what was wrong.

His eyes quickly but effectively scanned the papers in his lap, trying to understand what exactly was being said in those many exams that had been performed on him. He found a complex and amateur drawing there as well, made in black ink, but for the life of him, he had no idea what it was.

Sasuke prided himself for being someone intelligent, someone who could easily pick up all kind of information presented to him, but he was seriously struggling to understand what was written there as he browsed through the contents of the file.

His eyes landed on the results of his blood and urine samples. Finally, something he could understand.

He easily noticed that nothing seemed to be normal about him, his various levels either too high or too low. That couldn't be good.

However, in both bottoms of the pages of his blood and urine test results, there was one odd, particular thing that upset him greatly and that, apparently, explained all the irregularities about him.

But that couldn't be right. Sure, there was an obvious malfunction in his hormonal system, but that was just ridiculous.

"What is this?" he inquired sternly, lifting up the results for the Hokage to see. "Am I so messed up to the point where the only logical explanation is a false accusation of pregnancy? Seriously?"

Tsunade didn't blink, crossing her arms over her chest. There was a flicker of emotion in her eyes, but it was soon concealed.

"During three days we have performed all kinds of tests on you, more than once," she said slowly, as if wanting Sasuke to retain her words. "The results were always the same. Sakura felt it from the moment she examined you with chakra when Neji brought you here, but she didn't think it was possible, so she came to me. I examined you myself, and felt it, as well. We genuinely thought we were both crazy. To be honest, I don't even know how your body actually adapted itself to the point where even your cells would accuse a pregnancy, but there is no doubt about it. Neji's seen it, too, with his Byakugan."

Sasuke blinked a few times, his mouth falling open.

"That is not possible," he said, his voice cracking with the sudden dryness in his throat. "I am a man, I can't bear children."

"It seems like it _is_ possible, and you better believe it," Tsunade confirmed, with a certainly that made chills run down Sasuke's spine. "There is definitely something inside of you; something that is pretty much _alive_."

A strange sort of apathy took over Sasuke at that, and he stared at the Hokage as if he she had snakes coming out of her nose. He was a _man_, and there was no way a man could be…No, it wasn't possible. It couldn't be. His body wasn't made for something like that, it wasn't natural, it wasn't…

His rational mind didn't want to believe it – _couldn't_ believe it – and yet, something inside of him acknowledged that the strangeness in him that he had been feeling lately was now more justified – his body acknowledged the situation. Even Neji had confirmed it, according to the Hokage.

All of a sudden, Sasuke's mind shut down and his brain became an echoing void.

"Sasuke…" Tsunade's voice had dropped a few octaves, becoming surprisingly gentle, as she leaned forward to place her hand over his wrist. "I know it's hard to process, and it seems absurd, but it is happening. I wish I could give you time to accommodate to the idea, but I'm afraid time isn't something we can afford. There are things you need to know so we can find the best way to deal with this."

Sasuke closed his mouth. Why was she _talking_ like that? Why did she have to sound so condescending and…was that pity? Fear in her eyes? He hated it. He hated that she sounded so serious, so _real_. If he was dreaming, he wanted to wake up, wanted reality to crash down upon him in that very instant.

But he was lucid like he'd never been before, his mind so unforgivingly focused that there was no escaping the possibility that he might've been slightly out of it.

An unknown feeling rushed through him, something akin to shock, or panic, he wasn't sure. He knew he had to stay calm – he _wanted_ to stay calm – and yet, his body wasn't obeying him.

Tsunade noticed his sudden deadly paleness and stood up quickly, removing the file and respective sheets of paper from his lap and setting them on the bed beside him.

"I think I'm going to be sick…" Sasuke muttered shakily, closing his eyes. Tsunade fetched a medium sized metallic basin from under his bedside table and promptly shoved it in front of him, just as he leaned forward and began dry heaving uselessly. There was the taste of something very sour in his mouth and he was salivating more than usual, but even though his stomach seemed to convulse, nothing was coming out.

Tsunade sighed and placed her hand over his bended head in a gesture meant to offer comfort. "You have to calm down," she said firmly. "Your nervous system is a mess, and you'll only end up causing unnecessary trouble for yourself."

Sasuke wanted to snap something harsh and rude at her, but instead ended up dry heaving a few more times, still not able to throw up properly, but spitting out the excess of saliva in his mouth nonetheless.

It took a while for him to calm down enough for his stomach to settle, but eventually, he managed to straighten up and inhale deeply through his nose, forcing his twitching muscles to relax and his heart to stop beating so damned wildly in his chest.

"Better?" the blond woman asked. At Sasuke's nod, she removed the basin and set it down on the floor before grabbing for the file and sitting down once again.

She waited patiently for him to wipe the sweat from his forehead and to steady his breathing while she browsed through the sheaf of papers.

Once he felt considerably steadier, he swallowed hard.

"How did something like this happen?" he inquired coldly, fists clenching over his thighs. "My body…there's no way a male body is ready to deal with something like this. I don't…" he shook his head from side to side, forcing himself to not allow his nerves to get the best out of him. "Please, explain it to me so I can understand."

Tsunade cleared her throat, making a face that indicated that she wasn't exactly looking forward to the conversation.

"First of all, I need to inform you that only the two of us, Sakura, Neji and Shizune know about this," she stated, in a low voice. "Secondly, there is no doubt that this was the seal's doing, but I can only offer you basic assumptions on the process since I have honestly never seen anything like this before, and am pretty stunned myself."

"Alright," Sasuke said, resolutely. "Assumptions or not, I want to know what you found out."

Tsunade seemed to be organizing her thoughts for a while before speaking. "My theory, based on Neji's reports throughout the last few months was that the chakra container was, in fact, a fake reproductive system. The only reason why it absorbed other people's chakra was just so the recipient could grow, forming itself and adapting itself to your body. I'm sure Neji has told you that you have several chakra strings attached not only to your own chakra channels, but also to some of your organs. Since there was nothing inside you before, of course the extra chakra the 'pouch' assimilated provided extra chakra for you at the time."

She scratched her forearm in an almost irritated gesture.

"Theoretically, its construction is very ingenious, and, even if it's in an absurd, unusual kind of way, it seems to be more than capable of sustaining life inside you like a real womb."

"I don't understand," Sasuke muttered, having a hard time processing the information provided. "How can it have created a reproductive system without any of you noticing it was one?"

"It doesn't look like one," Tsunade informed. "At all. We suspect that the breeding system was somehow very different from what we normally see in a woman, but we're not sure how the fetus was conceived, though. But if you look at the sketch Neji provided, you can have a basic notion of what it looks like now."

She searched for the drawing in between the sheaf of papers, and once she found it, she turned it to Sasuke.

"This is the artificial womb," She explained, pointing at the central, distorted liver like figure. "Neji couldn't see the fetus very clearly because the womb is made of chakra and makes it almost impossible even for him to see through it, since it's so bright, reason why the x-rays and ultrasounds were useless, in case you haven't noticed. Still, he spotted something here," she pointed at a tiny bean shaped element situated somewhere in the bottom of the recipient. "It's still very small; we're lucky to have found it at such an early stage. As you can see, these smaller strings are the chakra ones connected to your chakra pathways, sucking your personal chakra in order to sustain the womb. The thicker chakra channels are actually the ones connected to your organs to provide a most efficient connection to the fetus. This one, here, is connected to your digestive system, and that one is…"

"I get it," Sasuke interrupted, his eyes fixing unblinkingly on the distorted bean Neji drew, showing the tiny fetus lying within him. "I've been assimilating chakra from other people, don't tell me…"

"It's not possible to create solid life from chakra alone, Sasuke," Tsunade said, as if it was obvious, lowering the drawing. "The chakra you assimilated, as I have just told you, only served to aid in the formation, first of the reproductive system, and then, of the current womb." She bit her lip seriously. "The recipient still sucks chakra, though, which is to be expected. However, there seems to be a lot of Naruto's chakra sustaining the womb, probably because of its…uniqueness."

Sasuke nodded once, not really knowing what to say.

"These, are all assumptions," Tsunade said, once more. "Sakura, Shizune and myself all agree that the breeding process might have been nothing more than a highly complex system with the sole purpose of merging cells together, in this case, yours and Naruto's since he's…well, the person with whom you…_copulate_ with."

Sasuke looked away, staring at some invisible spot on the wall of the room. He could've never have guessed that every time he and Naruto got involved they were both moving towards…_this_.

It wasn't Naruto's fault, and it wasn't that he topped more often than Sasuke did, it just so happened that Sasuke himself had this…_thing_ going on.

He still couldn't believe that it was happening. He wasn't angry, he was just…shocked. He wanted to know about it, wanted to understand, to find a way for it all to make sense, and yet, he knew that it would make no difference in the end.

"How that happened is a mystery," the blond woman pressed on, golden eyes staring at him, but Sasuke didn't look at her. "The reproductive system might've changed your cells, in this case, the sperm inside your body, and turned it to eggs."

"Naruto and I rarely wear protection," Sasuke admitted, swallowing hard. "Still, how can his sperm have reached the reproductive system?"

"Sasuke, we have never seen anything like this, and this information is nothing but speculation," Tsunade repeated, huffing. "I'm sure only Haru knows how it really works. We are guessing that it was suctioned, and made its way up through the gaps in the tissues of your organs, which, in itself, is almost ridiculous because the chances of even a particle of sperm actually reaching an egg would be ridiculously low."

Sasuke closed his eyes. If he were to be honest with himself, he didn't really know what he was feeling. Never in a million years would he have dreamt of something like this happening to him, but now that it was happening, he felt…weird. The panic had vanished completely to give place to that overwhelming, and horribly scary, clarity.

What was going to happen to him? What was he going to do?

What would Naruto think of this?

"What are my options?" he inquired, at once, staring straight into his Hokage's eyes.

Tsunade pressed her lips together for a while.

"Well, I'm sure your common sense can give you that answer," she replied. "You either get rid of it, or try to keep it. Whichever one you chose will put you in severe danger."

_Of course_, Sasuke thought, almost feeling like laughing at himself for the stupidity of having asked such a question.

"I don't know what I'm dealing with, so I'm going to be blunt about it and prevent us both from wasting our time," the blond woman said, straight to the point, which Sasuke was thankful for. "The abortion is something I can _try_ to do, but with the womb being so intricately connected to your body and your chakra pathways, I don't know how much damage cutting through it could cause. You could become severely injured for life, or even die."

He blinked at her, licking his dry lips.

"What if I want to keep it?"

The question seemed to take Tsunade by surprise ever so slightly, and she frowned at him in an almost reproachful way.

"Well..." she said, heaving a sigh. "I don't know if the fetus's growth will be processed in the same way as a normal baby's is, or if the process is more accelerated. Either way, your male body might not endure the experience, Sasuke. Unlike a woman's, it's not ready for the expansion of bones and other body changes that occur during a pregnancy. You might become crippled. Who knows if you or the fetus are able to survive such an experience? Also, my prediction is, the more it grows, the more chakra you will have to provide. It might come to a point where you can't even lift a finger without your life being in danger, not to mention that the actual birth would be much more dangerous than even the abortion itself."

_Of course._ It was all good news.

"Somehow I have a feeling that this is not all there id to it," Sasuke hissed, feeling suddenly on edge.

"Sasuke..." Tsunade's eyes became softer, giving him that look of pity that he hated. "This is just a guess, as this whole scenario is, but from the amount of Kyuubi's chakra in your body, I was forced to consider the fact that this..._thing_, might not be human. Even if it is, it can be...mutated, partially human with demon or animalistic features. I do think that this is thinking positive, because considering things, the being is almost one hundred percent sure to come out deficient. Also..."

"The good news just keep coming, don't they?" Sasuke snapped, not being able to control the sarcasm and bitterness in his voice. "It's all winning situations for me."

"I _am_ sorry," the Hokage replied, shaking her head from side to side. "I wish I could offer you good news and a positive side to it. Maybe I'm just overdramatizing, and things can be fixed easily but it's all I can do to take precaution. No matter what you decide to do, it can either go well, or terribly bad. The situation is very serious."

"Yes, I am aware."´

Tsunade bit her lip, a worried looking splashed on her beautiful face. She seemed to be expecting some sort of reply from Sasuke, but all he could do was stare at her emotionlessly, waiting for her to continue.

"What I'm trying to say is, you have to think very carefully about this," she whispered, clutching the papers in her hands. "You must be very aware that the consequences might be dire. The only person who might be able actually do something about this is Haru. However, going to her, or not, is entirely up to you, and even with that simple action of hope, you have to keep in mind that nothing is for free in this world. I am going to help you as much as I possibly can."

Sasuke closed his eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose. He understood the Hokage's words all too well. He could leave the matters in Tsunade's hands and keep his pride, but it might get him killed, or he could go to the damned priestess and be indebted to her. Yes, because even though it was her fault that he was in this situation in the first place, she had played her game well, and would continue to do so until she got what she wanted.

But…what _did_ he want to do? What could he tell Naruto? Was he willing to risk his life just to take it out? Did he _want_ to risk his life by keeping it?

It was all a matter of living or dying, it seemed. It could go well…or not. Tsunade's assumptions made more sense than Sasuke wanted to admit, but at the same time, something inside of him clung to the hope that she was mistaken and that it would all work out. No one would create a perfect reproductive system and a womb capable of functioning inside a man for it to have drastic consequences in the end. From what he could see, and thinking back on the whole process, whoever invented this had studied everything minutely to make it perfect. Of course there could be flaws. Maybe it was something so unique that only someone highly knowledgeable of the seal's process could actually interfere in a safe way. Maybe only the performer of the seal could actually manipulate it.

"I have to tell you this, though," Tsunade said, in barely a whisper, filled with resentment. "I can tell you what I think the best course of action is, if you wish, but it's _you_ who will have to decide. But keep in mind that, if you decide to keep it, you cannot stay in Konoha. You would have to quit the Shinobi life. Something like this is not normal, and you couldn't just live your life normally around here anymore. Also, even if you were to stay confined at home, the council would wonder about you for all the wrong reasons. Also…if indeed you manage to give birth to it, how will you justify it, especially if it's not human? Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Sasuke pressed his lips together, feeling at loss. He nodded, once, and felt Tsunade's hand over his wrist again, offering a firm comfort he hadn't noticed he needed.

What _did_ he want to do? He wondered again.

The normal train of thought for any man would be to immediately want to get rid of it and pretend it had never existed.

Yes, he felt disgusted but in a way that had more to do with his male ego than with the fact that he had something living inside of him. He was a man, he wasn't supposed to be in the condition he was in. He didn't want to acknowledge it, and in that moment, he would rather drink his own piss than to touch his own belly – he doubted he'd be able to for the next few days. He would never look at himself in a mirror again as long as the seal – the _thing_ – was in his body, he was sure.

He wasn't supposed to be in this situation. His life was at risk, the thing was draining him alive, incapacitating him to do what any normal person did in their daily lives. Women could go about their business normally for the first few months, couldn't they? Than why was this happening to _him_? Why did it have to be like this? Why did that fucking priestess have to take away everything he loved by doing this to him?

It would've been better if the seal's purpose had been to kill him after all.

After this absurd thought, his body shook suddenly and a wave of guilt coursed through him. What was he doing, thinking about something like that?

Sasuke placed his hand over Tsunade's, more to gain control over his feelings than to respond to the comfort.

In spite of his disdainful internal judgments, he knew he was being impulsive. Of course, he couldn't just accept something like that with a light heart, but the situation was grave, serious, and it was his life at risk, as well as the possible baby's, someone who's existence was still oblivious and could not be blamed upon.

More than anything, there was one thing bothering him, overpowering the sheer shock, confusion and slight disgust lying within him.

What if the fetus was human? Even if it wasn't, what if it had the chance to come out perfectly healthy, in its own way? Even at the cost of Sasuke's own life, could he really kill something that was _his_?

His blood. _Naruto's _blood. A mixture between him and Naruto. It could be human.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he straightened his back brusquely in realization, startling the blond woman, who blinked at him confusedly.

_It's mine. Whatever this is…it's mine. Ours._

His and Naruto's. Someone – or something – that would have Uchiha blood running through its veins. With Kyuubi chakra or not, it was sure to be special anyway, considering who the parents were.

Sasuke should hate Haru for what she had done to him, but at the same time…if she hadn't done it, would he ever have the chance of conceiving something like this with the person he cherished the most in the world?

Everything became clear for Sasuke then, and his eyes became huge as he looked at Tsunade's flabbergasted face.

He had to protect it at any cost. If there was a chance that it was human and that he could bring it to this world, no matter how small, he had to take it or he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Why had he even questioned himself about it in the first place?

He understood, within himself, just how absolutely impulsive and crazy his mind had become in a matter of seconds, deciding something like this so quickly, slapping him mentally to make him realize how obvious the solution was. He was crazy, he had to be, and yet, the peace that assaulted him just then was something he had never experienced before, and he knew that he wouldn't change his mind now that his decision was made, because he was stubborn and couldn't rest until he had accomplished his purposes.

Shit, he felt tired and emotionally worn out. He just wanted to go home and pass out on his bed. He didn't want to have to think about any of it anymore.

The female Hokage must've seen something in his eyes, because she bit her lip once more, looking dejected.

Sasuke heaved a deep sigh.

"Can I go home?" he asked in a tired drone, patting her hand almost condescendingly. "I really could use some time alone."

"Of course," she agreed, with a light nod. Sasuke could swear he saw her eyes water, but she leaned away, eyeing him in her usual stern and professional way, and he couldn't be sure. "You can walk to your apartment, but make sure you walk slowly so as to not exhaust yourself. And don't use chakra _at all_; at this point, you might…."

"Yes, I know," Sasuke groaned, rolling his eyes. "From the bright future ahead of me that you have just described, I understand the implications of my actions all too well, Hokage-sama."

"I'm being serious," Tsunade snapped, getting up from her chair imposingly. "You are an invalid now. Get as much sleep as you can. You have noticed that you're hungrier than usual, that's just a side effect of the low chakra in your body and the normal hunger caused by the fetus's necessity itself, so make sure you eat a lot."

"Yes."

"I will let you have time to yourself, but you will have to let me know what you really want to do in the next couple of days," she said, looking down at him over her large breasts as if he was an irresponsible child. "We'll figure something out, Sasuke, but we have to work fast."

"I understand."

"Take off your shirt, I'm going to have to do a little checkup before I can let you go."

She set the papers on the chair and Sasuke automatically removed his t-shirt, keeping his eyes averted from his own body, immediately placing his hands on the bed on either side of his thighs.

In silence, he waited for Tsunade to place her now chakra covered hands over his abdomen, feeling his body pulling violently, sucking her energy like a leech. The woman didn't protest in spite of the focused look on her face.

"The fetus feels healthy, for the time being," she said, almost casually. "It has been growing normally, but it's only been three days, so it's normal that we can't really see a difference."

Sasuke all but nodded, his eyes fixed on the basket of tomatoes.

"Your chakra reserves are low, as predicted, but not frighteningly so, like when you first got here," she proceeded. "I forgot to mention something, though. Kamui's punch has, apparently, dislocated the womb slightly, so that it's now settled a little above the area where a normal womb should be, just underneath the stomach. You might feel nauseous often, and any kind of brusque movements might cause you to throw up. This added to the fetus presence…well, you might go through a hard time."

"I understand," Sasuke repeated, offering a curt nod.

She checked his blood pressure, his pulse, and other things that Sasuke considered completely useless, and yet, he understood her concern and the need for such precautions. She left the room for a few minutes to fetch him something and came back with several flasks of pills containing all sorts of vitamins and stuff that was supposed to help his immune system. Almost on auto pilot, Sasuke listened to her, retaining the information with that blissful apathy he was very thankful for.

She helped him sign out of the hospital, getting him his things and filling his head with advices on what foods he should consume to give him more energy. He was given a paper bag with his belongings. She asked him if he wanted to see Sakura, but Sasuke knew all too well the emotional chaos the girl was probably in, and didn't really want to deal with it, even if he was focused on talking to her the day after. Tsunade then escorted him outside the hospital, where they both found Neji sitting on the single step at the entrance. The Hyuuga immediately got up as soon as he saw them. Sasuke was immensely relieved by Neji's neutral, impassive expression as he looked at him. Neji took the bag from his arms without saying a word.

"If you do everything exactly the way I told you, you should be fine," Tsunade said, offering Sasuke a small, forced smile. "If you need something, just let me know. I expect to see you the day after tomorrow, in my office, and we'll talk and do a few more check-ups, alright?"

"Yes, thank you for your hard work, Hokage-sama," Sasuke said, bowing politely but carefully to her, Neji imitating him silently. When he straightened up, he looked into Tsunade's expressive and intense eyes with seriousness. "I only have a favor to ask before leaving."

She raised one eyebrow at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Fire away."

"Please, do not say a word about this to Naruto."

Neji's head turned to him at the speed of light, but she seemed to be expecting this, because she merely shrugged, even if her face showed a clear disapproval.

"He thinks you have a virus," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "Just tell him you need rest and say you're having food poisoning if you do end up throwing up too much. I don't like the idea of keeping something like this away from him, but considering the…seriousness of your situation, I understand where you're coming from. Telling him or not is none of my business, though, so I give you my word."

"Thank you."

He bowed once more, shoved his hands inside his pockets and turned around, walking away with Neji quickly trailing behind him.

However, Tsunade's voice made itself be heard behind him, strict but not without a bit of sadness.

"I know you care deeply about him," she called out. "So I trust that, whatever you decide to do, you'll do it thinking about him, too. This is not just about you, Uchiha."

Sasuke felt himself tense, his teeth burying themselves in his lower lip, a wave of remorse washing through him. Still, he kept on walking, because he knew that Tsunade didn't need an answer to her request.

Sasuke walked slowly, his sandaled feet seeming too heavy for him to carry around, for some reason, and only now did he fully understand how his body had changed and how much everything was going to change for him from now on.

The sun shone brightly and it was warm over his head. Around him, the streets were the same, busy with people walking about, working, and chatting. The air smelled of flowers, wood and all sorts of food, welcoming, familiar, but, more than anything, _normal_.

The world hadn't changed, and no-one seemed to look at him differently, and yet, Sasuke felt like he was being pressured, stalked by an invisible force that looked down upon him.

He knew that his body looked the same – the fetus was still too small to offer any kind of change, but it seemed to weight a thousand pounds inside him and have the size of a basketball as far as he was concerned. These were all things that plagued his mind, and he knew it was him being paranoid, but could anyone blame him? He didn't feel like himself at all; it was like his soul was trapped in the existence of another person altogether.

"You have made your decision," Neji noted perceptively beside him, finally opening his mouth to speak, and by the unpleased, resentful note in his voice, Sasuke knew he knew exactly what his decision was. "Do you want to die?" the Hyuuga asked, in an almost inaudible hiss.

In spite of himself, Sasuke found himself smiling.

"Living or dying..." he whispered, solemnly. "It's all a matter of choosing how either one goes, Neji, and since it's none of your business, you have to respect whatever decision I choose to make."

Neji's uneasiness was palpable, even if the kept his imperturbable stance, but Sasuke heard him holding the paper bag closer to his chest.

"Aren't you even going to give me the right to give you some advice?" he pressed on, almost stubbornly.

"No." Sasuke answered, hoping to put a stop to the useless conversation. Neji might be aware of his situation, and he was sure his captain was worried sick, but still, it was none of his business, and Sasuke had too much in his mind already to put himself through the task of trying to make him understand his view on the matter.

Neji 'tsked'.

"What are you going to do about it?" he asked, sounding angry, his energy changing to one of distress. "You don't plan on telling Naruto, which, let me tell you, is absolutely crazy, because he's going to notice, sooner or later. Besides, if something happens to you, he'll be…"

"For now, I'm going home, to rest, just like the Hokage told me to do, which means this conversation ends here." Sasuke interrupted steadily, throwing a cool, challenging look in Neji's direction that told him exactly how serious he was. However, he immediately regretted having looked into Neji's eyes, because what he saw there, made his heart sink – he looked both absolutely devastated and hopeless at the same time.

Another surge of guilt struck him and he turned his face away, refusing to feel for other people. This situation was about _him_, his child, and Naruto, not about others, and least of all, not about Neji, even though he did see, in a way, how this was affecting him, as well – they had been lovers and were now co-workers, comrades and, most of all, friends.

Clenching his fists inside his pockets, he forced himself to calm down his own selfishness. It _was _about other people, too, it seemed. Yet another hassle to make his life a living hell.

Why had things changed so dramatically in such a short time?

"I just..." Sasuke hissed, annoyed at himself for having the need to justify himself. "If there is a chance, no matter how small, that this living thing is human, then...I can't _not_ want to try and have it, Neji."

Neji moved quickly, then, grabbing for the Uchiha's forearm with his hand, the other still holding the bag tightly, stopping him from taking another step. Sasuke turned to him, not really wanting to look into Neji's eyes and see those things again.

"Look at me," the older man demanded furiously, shaking his arm empathically, and Sasuke, more out of respect for him that from willingness, obeyed. "Naruto wouldn't want you to waste your life."

Sasuke looked at him intensely, the action making Neji's eyebrows quirk upwards in surprise.

"I would gladly waste it if it meant that he'd be happy, eventually, and that I had managed to bring something of _ours_ into this world," the raven said, with such conviction that it amazed even him.

Neji gaped.

"Sasuke..."

"In fact..." the Uchiha continued, unable to hold the sudden flow of words coming straight from his heart in the most disgusting of ways. "I would throw everything I have, all my dreams, all my needs, _everything_ just to...if there is a child inside me, Neji, I'll do whatever it takes...for Naruto, and for me."

The stared at each other without blinking for what seemed like hours, Sasuke's breathing a little raged from the strong rush of emotions coursing through him.

"You are out of your mind." Neji ended up saying, disbelievingly. Sasuke sighed.

"I can't stay here."

"You want to go to the priestess?"

"She's the only one who can help me," Sasuke replied, shaking Neji's hand away from his arm. "She knows how to make it right, I can just tell."

"That's what she _wants_," the long haired one reminded, horrified. "This is what she's been waiting for since..."

"I know," Sasuke cut in, through gritted teeth. "But I have no choice. If she can give me life, I'll do what I have to do."

Neji swallowed hard, shaking his head from side to side in defeat. He closed his eyes firmly, breathing in and out through his nose before opening them again, a new, firmer resolve in those clever, intelligent orbs of his.

"The price of a life is high, Sasuke," he then said, in a calmer, more mature tone. "Let alone two. By going to her you will lose everything. You'll lose Naruto, your job, your home, your _life_. Is that what you want?"

Sasuke lifted his head up to look at the bright blue sky that was still not as blue as his lover's eyes.

"Will I lose that much?" he asked, almost absent-mindedly, smirking slightly in spite of the sudden pain in his chest. "The world, _life_ itself is all about equivalent exchanges. You can't have something without giving up something else. I only have two hands to grab hold of what is important to me, and then everything else I try to keep just…falls off of them. You have to give up something to gain something else, that's how it works." He looked at his friend, smirk turning to a small, burdened smile. "What do you expect me to do, _Captain_? Just wait for my imminent death? If my fate is to die, then at least I'll die fighting for something that's mine."

Neji pressed his lips together, his shoulders tense and his back very straight. He looked at his underling for a few seconds, and Sasuke knew he was reading him, like he always did, which was fine – it would save him the trouble of wasting more unnecessary words. After a while, he lifted his chin up in the proud, obnoxious way he always did when he had to boss Sasuke and his team around.

"Fine," he said. "But you can't do this on your own, Sasuke, you know you can't. I'm going to help you. All of us, who know about this…we'll make it work, somehow."

Sasuke all but nodded. Knowing Neji the way he did, he knew there was no way he could refuse, because his captain would make sure he kept his promise, even if he had to force him to accept his presence and his help.

Sasuke was aware that his condition was now fragile. Neji was right, there was no way he could pull this off on his own will and stubbornness alone, but then again, there was only so much Neji could do. But he could think about it all later, once he had stopped wearing his heart on his sleeve. His emotions were far too on edge at the moment, and they would be for a while, at least until he came to term with himself and with the task ahead of him, and until he saw Naruto again.

He wanted to see him so badly it hurt, and at the same time, he feared his own reaction to the other's presence. How could he involve Naruto in this mess without hurting him, worrying him, or worse, giving him hope?

He couldn't tell him. Not now, at least. He had to think about what needed to be done, first, and then he would decide what course of action to take.

Without the need for any more talking, Sasuke resumed his steady but slow pace as he made his way to his apartment, looking forward to the blissful oblivion of sleep in sheets that smelled of home, and of Naruto.

TBC…

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If you're planning on killing me after this chapter, I can tell you that you haven't see the worst of it yet. The next chapter will be coming out soon, because I have already started to write it ;)

**Don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter Four : Little Dreams

**A/N: **Ah, last chapter seemed to have caused quite the scandal. I should write controversial chapters more often, I say. I loved to read you guys' thoughts about the story, it meant a lot to me, honestly! I love to know that I'm able to move you. So thank you all! And thank you for the faves and follows, too!

Un-beta'd, for the time being, and un-edited, because I have to go to work and can't really read it through.

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**Chapter Four: Little Dreams **

When Sasuke woke up the next morning, he had tears in his eyes and a heaviness in his body he couldn't recall ever experiencing. He had hoped that things would look brighter after long hours of sleep, and yet, somehow this nightmare felt like it was a thousand times worse than it probably was. Many different thoughts ran through his mind, and he realized that making decisions had seemed a whole lot easier the previous day, while his head was still hot.

The other side of his bed was still warm, letting him know that Naruto had been there not too long ago. Moved by the thought, his own body seemed to resent the absence of his lover, a sharp pang of longing assaulting him. Even to him, it felt overwhelming to realize that something as unlikely as the situation he was in would really give him another perception of his feelings for his best friend. Seeking some comfort, he reached out for the pillow Naruto used and pulled it to his chest, burying his face in it and inhaling the still fresh fragrance that was so familiar to him.

God, he wanted to see him.

He had always known Naruto was important to him, but throughout the different stages of his life, he had always associated his feelings to certain fazes he was going through at the time. When they started dating, Sasuke had known that there was something else about the loud male that pulled him in and made him want to always be with him, beside him, and yet, no matter how lost in the haze of lust, annoyance and affection he was, his most reasonable side had always led him to keep a cool head and his feet firmly grounded to the earth, because they were both male, very different from each other and, most of all, too young to truly understand the real importance of a relationship such as theirs and what they really wanted for their future, as a couple, and as individuals.

However, this new found existence lying within him made Sasuke realize that his feelings towards Naruto hadn't been as confused and all over the place as he had initially thought, quite the contrary; his mind and his heart both knew exactly what Naruto was to him without questioning, and this was shocking, even to him. He was the one who was all over the place, and he was particularly upset that morning. He wasn't sure if it was the pressure of not knowing how to even begin to deal with everything around him, or a consequence of his condition.

Sasuke spent a good fifteen minutes in bed, trying to calm down his raging heartbeat, even though his body was desperately craving for food and his stomach seemed to be chewing itself from the inside. He was feeling weak and slightly sick, so something told him that his nervous system was out to get him.

Taking a few deep, calming breaths, he forced himself to let go of his lover's pillow and sat down on the bed before pushing the sheets off him and setting his feet on the floor, immediately feeling his body shaking and his head spinning. However, when he stood up, a violent and unstoppable wave of nausea chilled his skin from head to toe and he all but stumbled in a hurried panic out of his room and into the bathroom, barely managing to reach the toilet before his stomach gave in and he was disposing of what little food he had left there. Luckily for him, he didn't exactly throw up too much, but his stomach was convulsing horribly and he was forced to dry heave a few more times before letting out a pitiful moan of annoyance. Gasping for air once he realized his stomach had settled, he spit out the acid taste in his mouth before lifting his shaky hand to flush the toilet. He still felt like shit, but he was a bit more relieved, at least.

As he washed his face and brushed his teeth, his hands trembled and his stomach made a loud noise of complaint, and Sasuke knew that, even though the last thing he wanted right now was to eat, he had to do it otherwise he was sure he might pass out. He felt so weak that even breathing seemed like an unnaturally painful process.

When he walked into the kitchen, he found that there was already a small bento on the table, with a glass of orange juice – covered by a white paper napkin – placed beside it. There was a tiny note there, too, written by Naruto, who said that he had a few things he needed to do, but that he'd be home after lunchtime, to take care of him.

Sasuke stared at the items almost apathetically, but inside, his chest was burning with so many emotions he didn't really know what to do with himself. Still, he sat down, removed the lid of the bento and ate, noticing that Naruto's cooking had never tasted more delicious to him.

After ingesting everything, Sasuke was automatically forced to also eat the remaining four apples lying on the decorating bowl over the counter before cleaning up the kitchen with excruciating slowness. He was feeling better, but that didn't mean that he would go and risk anymore unnecessary trouble for himself. After swallowing one pill from each of the seven flasks Tsunade had given him, he then went to take a shower, an action that proved to be immensely awkward for him because he didn't want to look down at his body and see the seal. More than that, he didn't want to touch that particular area – just thinking about it made chills run down his spine. He tried to ignore it, but now that he knew what was going on with him, it seemed impossible. He knew that the fetus was just too small, and that there was no way that such a tiny thing could be moving yet, to be perceived by him, but he could swear that he _could_ feel it, the presence so unbelievably strong that it almost made him feel violated.

He didn't hate it. In spite of the pain, desperation and confusion Sasuke was going through, some deep part of him was also a little happy, albeit fearful, and yet, he felt a revulsion that couldn't be explained, something that, hopefully, was still associated to his initial shock. It wasn't like it was purposeful, it was just that his own mind hadn't completely accepted the presence of another being in his body yet. It wasn't something that worried him, though.

After putting on a dark red sweater and a pair of worn out jeans, Sasuke grabbed for his keys and his wallet and left the apartment, desperate for a bit of fresh air. There was some seriously thinking to be done ahead of him, and he was sure that curling up at home would only turn everything into an even bigger mess. Besides, he didn't know when Naruto would be home, and even though his very soul was craving his presence, he didn't think he was psychologically ready to face him yet. But he would be – he had to.

Slowly, Sasuke made his way through the streets of Konoha. It was a sunny but slightly chilly day, yet the wind felt nice against his cheeks.

On his way to his destination, he made a stop at a grocery store to buy a bottle of water and a few snacks, making sure he got himself a few sweets, too, just in case. Thankfully, during his walk, he didn't really see anyone particularly familiar that might've asked questions on where he had been for the last few days.

When he reached the training grounds, he spotted a few teams training here and there, but none of them seem to be of people he knew, and Naruto was nowhere to be seen, to Sasuke's relief.

He experienced a small feeling of exhilaration at seeing training ground number 3 completely empty and didn't hesitate in heading for the edge of the river, where he sat on the ground, placing his plastic bag at his side.

That was probably one of his favorite spots in all of Konoha, and he often came here when he wanted to relax, or even to train by himself whenever he could find it available. There was just something about that little corner of deep contact with nature that really pleased him, and the added sound of the river flowing, along with the chirping of birds and rustling of leaves was like heaven on earth.

He stretched his legs in front of him, his hands coming behind him to support his weight as he stared at the vegetation on the other side, taking a deep breath.

How long would it take for him to see that same landscape once more? Would he ever look at it again?

Keeping that baby was a decision that, in his heart, made sense, but that, practically, was something that would be very difficult to achieve. Going to see Haru was something that might make it possible, and yet, he was aware that there would be a price to pay, and that whatever that price was, it would surely lead to a rough path for him to follow.

Sasuke would be lying to himself if he said that he wasn't scared – he was, but there was something in him that didn't allow him to cower down. Now that he had made his decision, he was going to go through with it, because that was what he did, who he was, but more importantly, it was what he _wanted_.

Still, the future was uncertain, and there were many things that would never be the same. As the Hokade had said, he had to leave, and the Kami would only know when or if he'd ever be able to return.

And then, there was also Naruto, who was highly involved in this whole situation without even knowing it.

How could Sasuke tell him that he had something growing inside of him? How would Naruto react? Would he be disgusted? Would he look at Sasuke differently?

It wasn't the fear of rejection that made Sasuke not want to tell him. He knew that the blond would be more than supportive; knew that, just like Sasuke himself, Naruto would want to protect that being through all the adversities, and to the very end. Nevertheless, there were things Naruto would have to be confronted with that might drive him away or, worst of all, hurt him beyond repair.

Sasuke wanted to go through that particular stage of his life with Naruto, and at the same time, he really, _really _didn't. It was like…he wanted him to know, to acknowledge it, to still want him, care for him the way he always did, but…from a distance.

He didn't want Naruto to become hopeful, because, knowing him the way Sasuke did, he would always look at the bright side of things, only to probably be terribly disappointed in the end. Thinking about giving him something only to take it away from him seemed too cruel.

Also…Sasuke didn't want his lover to see the changes in him as the baby grew up inside of him. Who knew what might happen? It was humiliating, as simple as that, and if Sasuke was feeling paranoid now, that his body was still the same, he couldn't imagine how his own mind would be as it began altering.

But…he needed Naruto. It had only been eight months since they had gotten together, but already he didn't imagine his life without that constant, loud and cheery presence. He wasn't doing this just for himself, but for Naruto, too.

Sasuke closed his eyes let his head fall backwards.

What the hell was he doing, thinking about hiding something like this from Naruto? He could feel that the path ahead of him was going to be rocky, stormy and possibly catastrophic. He knew he would have support, people who would help him, people who were important to him, and yet…

They weren't _Naruto_. They weren't the person who really mattered, the only person who he really needed to find the necessary strength.

It wasn't like he wasn't planning on telling Naruto, it was just that he didn't know how to. It was a scary thought. There were so many things he had to explain to him, so many what ifs and whatnots, all of it about to change his – and Naruto's – life forever.

How could he explain all these things to Naruto without causing them both pain? How could he tell him how he felt, what he really wanted, his hopes and fears? How could he express his own heartbreak towards this situation?

He didn't think he could actually go through the process of re-telling his boyfriend everything Tsunade had told him. Even to Sasuke, the topic was a sensitive one, and he had chosen to ignore altogether all the fatal negative aspects of his situation in order to keep his own sanity, which didn't mean that he didn't acknowledge it – he knew he was in danger.

Would Naruto be sad? Would he encourage him? Discourage him? What would his priorities be?

Sasuke knew he couldn't have it all. He wouldn't be able to keep his child _and_ Naruto, he was almost sure of that, but damn; he wanted it with every fiber of his being; that was why it hurt so much.

Sasuke let himself fall backwards until he was lying on his back on the dirt, placing both hands over his chest. It was becoming increasingly hard to breathe. Just when he thought he was finally reaching that right level of stability and happiness, things had to take a violent turn.

He knew that what he and Naruto had, what bound them together was a powerful thing. It wasn't like he wasn't aware of it, they just didn't talk much about these kinds of things. Still, he was sure that Naruto would never forgive him if he just disappeared without saying a word – even if it was for his own good – and Sasuke was sure that he could live with the loneliness, but he couldn't live with Naruto's anger and resentment. Naruto would much rather lose Sasuke as a lover than to have him lying to him, keeping him away. No matter how much this whole situation might hurt him, he would rather be there for Sasuke, even if, in the end, they would have to be broken apart.

These were things Sasuke knew, but once more, it was easier said than done, and Sasuke _did_ want to have it all. But he knew that a line would have to be drawn, eventually, separating the two of them. It just wasn't fair to either of them. Why did they have to go through this?

Emotionally drained, Sasuke tried to relax his muscles, feeling his body so utterly exhausted it felt like he'd never have energy again. Trying to drown his problems away seemed like such a good idea at that moment.

Pushing his demons away, he let himself drift into oblivion.

oOo

_The rain was falling heavily, hitting the roof of the traditional house noisily, the sound soothing in Sasuke's ears. _

_He was kneeling on the polished wooden porch, his rear sitting on his heels, his closed fists resting peacefully on his thighs. His back was very straight as he solemnly contemplated the _Zen_ garden in front of him, black eyes unblinking as he watched the rain soak up the stones and flowers his mother was so fond of and took care of so cautiously. In spite of everything, there were no clouds in the sky and the sun shone brightly. Still, it poured. _

_In the back of his mind, Sasuke knew that, even though that house was the same he had grown up in, certain things about it were different, unfamiliar, but not at all unwelcoming. He also knew that his mother was dead, so there was no way that those bright, lively flowers were planted by her. That house was his, but it was no longer a house belonging to the Uchiha family, which didn't upset Sasuke because there was a sense of comfort there that he couldn't turn away from. He belonged there; it was his home, and he felt at peace. _

_Sasuke's senses alerted him of approaching naked footsteps, and not long afterwards, a presence made itself clear near him as a body settled by his left. Sasuke turned his head towards the person slightly and he observed silently as his older brother, Itachi, adjusted himself with his feet dangling off the porch, raindrops wetting the tips of his toes in the area the rooftop no longer covered._

_Itachi was wearing black sweatpants and a dark blue t-shirt, his midnight hair – longer than Sasuke had ever remembered seeing – tied in a loose ponytail that rested along his spine. He looked exactly like he had the last time they had seen each other, on that fateful night when Sasuke had killed him. The palms of his hands were pressed together, squeezed between his thighs in an almost childish manner._

_Without moving, Sasuke watched as his brother's head tilt upwards to the sky, eyes darker than his, completely emotionless. There was a sense of calm surrounding him, and it felt to Sasuke like he was having a _dejá vu_ as nostalgia struck him. When they had been younger, they had often shared many moments of contemplative companionship such as this, and it amazed the younger Uchiha how much he suddenly missed that strong feeling of complete trust and reliability towards his older brother. _

_Bitterness and resentment clawed at his heart, but there was no longer anger there, nor hatred, just sadness and longing. _

_"Am I dead?" Sasuke asked quietly, his timid tone reminding him of himself as a child and causing him to frown._

_Itachi looked at him sideways before gazing up at the sky once more. _

_"What makes you think that?" he asked, tonelessly, the familiar voice causing a shiver to run down Sasuke's spine. _

_"You're dead," Sasuke pointed out obviously. "You're here, and I'm here. This is our parents' house. Are we supposed to be in hell?" _

_Itachi actually smiled slightly at that, closing his eyes. _

_"There is no heaven, and no hell in the afterlife, Sasuke," he muttered with sigh. "We do get to see a bit of both while we're in the world of the living, though." _

_Sasuke blinked a bit and nodded once in understanding. _

_"Where are we, then?" he asked. _

_Itachi's eyes opened and he turned his head to Sasuke, offering a real, gentle smile, the one Sasuke had always loved seeing when he was a child. Remembering how hard he had tried to make Itachi smile and laugh back then, brought a pang to Sasuke's heart._

_He had loved his mother and his father dearly, and yet, Itachi had always been there for him, always supporting and understanding, their strong bond the most precious possession of Sasuke's young self. He had loved Itachi more than anything, reason why his betrayal had had such a strong impact on him._

_For many years, Sasuke had convinced himself that he hated his older brother, the illusion fueling the strength needed to move forward towards his revenge. However, when he and Itachi had met, he had known that the other Uchiha had been waiting for Sasuke to become powerful enough to make him atone for his sins._

_Itachi had been waiting for Sasuke to kill him._

_Only after Itachi's death did Sasuke realize, and accept within himself that he had never stopped loving him. While killing off someone of his own blood – his family – had brought him a lot of grief, it had also allowed Sasuke to let go of his resentment towards Itachi and find some peace within himself._

_"We're in your home, of course," Itachi answered in his polite, kind way, as if was obvious. "This is your future, right here." _

_Sasuke blinked at him, and Itachi let out a small cackle. It seemed impossible that this person was the same that murdered their entire clan._

_"I don't understand," the younger one muttered, feeling his cheeks burn up at the sound of Itachi's chuckle. _

_"You really don't know why we're here, do you?" _

_Sasuke shook his head from side to side and Itachi shrugged elegantly, the movement so light it was almost imperceptible._

_"I know you can feel it," he whispered solemnly. "Things are about to change. Your dreams are about to be shattered, little brother."_

_Sasuke bit his lip when Itachi looked down, deep charcoal eyes looking at his navel impassively._

_Itachi's smile became sad, but there was a sparkle of encouragement in his eyes that was warm and reassuring._

_"You know, death is only the start of something new," he muttered, with a sigh. "When something dies, something else is sure to be reborn to replace it. Hopes, wishes, dreams, ambitions…it's the same with such things. Even if your dreams have to be killed, you'll have to find something else to wish for. You are a smart, goal driven person, Sasuke, so remember this well. Do not ever give up on what is truly important to you because, in the end, that is all that matters."_

_Sasuke closed his hands over his thighs, fists shaking slightly with emotion. Why was he feeling this way? Why was Itachi telling him these things, now of all times? He didn't have the right to play the big brother part, now that he had taken away everything from Sasuke, now that he was dead. Still, there was a little part of him that was thankful, happy that he wasn't completely alone._

_Sasuke lowered his head, his chin connecting with his chest as his eyes stung with unwanted tears. _

_He swallowed hard, unable to help the hopelessness within him. "Nii-san…" he whispered, in order to keep his voice as steady as he could. "Are you…are you disappointed at me?"_

_A warm hand was placed over his head, gently stroking it in an almost paternal gesture. _

_"Never," Itachi said gently, his touch allowing Sasuke to relax. "You are exactly the person I have always wanted you to become. You are different from me, and a lot better, too."_

_Sasuke looked at him through watery eyes, knowing that his face was reflecting his very soul, and yet not caring, because his brother's expression held nothing but understanding and encouragement._

_"I don't want to die," Sasuke mumbled, shaking his head from side to side a bit. "But I can't…I can't give up on something like this. I know it's twisted, and it's unnatural and it might end up doing more damage than anything else but…It doesn't feel wrong. Even though I'm scared of doing this on my own…even though I'll lose everything I've been trying so hard to build, even though I might lose **him**, I…"_

_"Sasuke," Itachi interrupted, in soft tone, brushing his cheekbone with the back of his fingers. "Your fate, like mine, has always been tainted in pain and suffering, no matter which path you choose. But if this is what you believe in, then you should never doubt yourself, because it'll pay off, eventually. Life and death are just a consequence of our human condition, and sometimes, dying old or young…it's all a matter of how fulfilled you are when it happens, and then, it stops being such a big deal."_

_Sasuke looked at him and bit his lip, allowing Itachi's hand to guide his head down, and next thing he knew, he was resting it over his brother's lap. He closed his eyes, one tear rolling down from the side of his face and into Itachi's pants, feeling very small all of a sudden as he nuzzled his cheek in the welcoming fabric._

_"It'll all be alright, little brother," Itachi assured, petting his hair affectionately. "Me, mother and father…we are looking after you. This is not your big finale yet; you have to grab for your own, perfect happy ending. It might take a while for it to come, though, and it's important that you don't give up on fighting for it, no matter what. It's all up to you."_

_Sasuke nodded._

_"But you don't have to do this alone," the eldest Uchiha said confidently. "You need him, don't you? You'll only hurt him more by keeping him away."_

_Sasuke bit his lower lip, sniffing tiredly and rubbing his eyes._

_"I'll hurt him more if I give him hope," he said. "What good is it if I give him hope, only to take everything away from him in the end?" He breathed in deeply, feeling his voice shake. "I know that I…won't be able to have him with me."_

_Itachi sighed softly._

_"No matter what you do, promise me that you won't give up," Itachi pressed on firmly, his hand stilling over Sasuke's head. "Even if you feel lonely, or lost, even it becomes hard…promise me that you'll always move forward."_

_"I promise," Sasuke whispered determinedly. Working hard, looking straight ahead was his way of life, he didn't know how to be any different, so he was sure that, no matter how much grief he might go through, giving up would never be an option in his book._

_He felt Itachi's hand move from his head to carefully be placed over his abdomen, over his t-shirt. His palm was pressed to it firmly before rubbing it in small, circular movements. The contact making Sasuke shiver slightly in self-awareness, but he couldn't help the comfort provided by the action. He opened his eyes, his heart racing a bit in awe, as he watched the rain fall down heavily in front of him, splashing stones, leaves and petals of colorful flowers._

oOo

"Tell him," Sasuke said firmly, his fists clenched at his sides even though his features were almost expressionless.

Tsunade joined her hands over her desk, golden eyes never leaving the Uchiha's. She hadn't expected to see him so soon, but Sasuke was a practical person and, as expected, he wouldn't just sit and brood when time wasn't exactly something he could afford to waste. There were things that needed to be decided, actions that needed to be taken, and the faster the better. Still, she had expected him to be two times more reckless about this; she had even feared that he might just run away on his own, which would've endangered his life. He was an intelligent person, he knew what was at stake, but he could be horribly impulsive in the most inconvenient of moments.

"He's upstairs, sorting through his next mission with the kids," she said. "Why don't you tell him yourself?"

Sasuke bit his lip but his eyes never left hers.

"I can't," he said simply, but the light, almost pained tone let the older woman know he was feeling deeply emotional. "I wasn't going to let him know at all, not until I knew I had a chance of making things right. I just…I can't really…_not_ let him know. But I don't want to have to explain it to him, my condition, the details, everything. I'm trying to come to terms with myself, trying to stay calm and composed, but I'm not stable enough to just...It's…"

He trailed off, breathing deeply and looking out the window behind the Hokage's desk. She could see him struggling with his own feelings, and Tsunade couldn't help but to feel for him, but most of all, she was feeling for Naruto. They were going to go through some rough times, that was a given.

"I understand," she said, nodding condescendingly. "But you'll have to talk to him, eventually. The two of you have got to sort things out, _together_. He'll want to help you, to be a part of it." Tsunade allowed her features to soften. "I know it looks like the end of the world right now. You are so young, Sasuke, and something like this is unimaginable, but if you just let yourself stop dramatizing about it, it'll be easier."

"I know," Sasuke snapped in a hiss, his voice trembling in spite of the cool tone as his eyes fell to the floor. "I don't want him to hurt, I don't want to see him cry, but most of all, I don't want him to be hopeful about this. I just…"

"You don't give him enough credit," the Hokage muttered, interrupting him. "He's a lot more mature than you think. You have to get it through your head that he has the right to feel whatever it is that he's going to feel. Not wanting him to hurt, to cry, or to be happy is not going to stop him from doing it. You can't take that right away from him, but once he experiences his usual emotional chaos, he will give you all the support you need."

Sasuke didn't answer, his fists shaking at his sides.

"You should know, better than anyone else, how much you mean to him," she pressed on gently. "No matter what happens afterwards, for your own sanity, and his, don't do this to yourself. Don't find obstacles where there aren't any, and most importantly, don't make a big deal out of something that, for now, isn't worth it."

There was a moment of silence, during which Sasuke swallowed hard, over and over again, as if trying to find his voice again. It was a little disturbing for her, to see the powerful, stoic Uchiha heir so distraught like this.

"I'm…I'm going to keep it," Sasuke ended up saying, as if the words hurt his throat, lifting his head up to look at her once more.

"I see," she said, already having been expecting it. "Then we have yet more details to take care of, don't we?"

He nodded, breathing through his nose noisily.

"You're going to see _her_?"

Once more, Sasuke nodded. For some reason, this made Tsunade's chest constrict. Although she knew it was the wisest thing to do, considering his decision, this posed all sorts of issues, and made her see Sasuke's difficulty in facing his lover in a whole new light.

So that was how it was going to be, huh.

A wave of impending sadness invaded her then, and she had to close her eyes to force her face to remain expressionless. Even if Sasuke's pregnancy had a chance to go well, there were other things that would undoubtedly go wrong. Konoha would lose him, Naruto would lose him, and Sasuke would lose everything he had been fighting so hard to achieve, all for the whims of one, greedy girl. It didn't seem real.

There was no other way, Tsunade knew it. She didn't want Sasuke's blood on her hands, and yet, she wished that she had more power and more knowledge to be able to help him so that things could be different. The bond that Sasuke and Naruto had was strong, powerful thing. They had taken so long to build their relationship and turn it into what they had only for it to be taken away, and with a situation that, with most couples, would only serve to bring them closer together.

But keeping Sasuke in Konoha was endangering his life and bringing unnecessary attention to him. The council would notice his absence from Shinobi duties. Even if he did manage to survive the pregnancy, and the birth, and even if the child was healthy and human, too many questions would be asked, not to mention that even the child's safety would be in danger, what with it being from the Uchiha bloodline, and surely another future Sharingan bearer.

It was all very unfortunate, and that seal, she knew, was way out of her league.

"I will talk to Naruto," she agreed, rubbing her temples tiredly. "But please, Sasuke, don't push him away. If you could only look at yourself, you would see what a mess you are, and you'd see how much you need him."

"I don't need to look at myself to know that," he said, almost inaudibly.

Her eyebrows lowered at him.

"Then have what you want," she said, in a whisper. "And take it for as long as you want, because you'll only hurt him more if you don't."

Again, Sasuke didn't answer, but his face revealed such a beautiful, yet upsetting longing that it was heartbreaking, making Tsunade doubt her own initial determination in talking to her protégé. She had to do it quickly or she might just breakdown as well.

"Shizune!" she yelled, slamming her fist on the desk violently. The huge door behind Sasuke was opened and her assistant's short black-haired head peeked inside.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune inquired nervously.

"Naruto is on the second floor," the Hokage said, feeling the beginnings of a headache. "Call him down immediately, I need to talk to him. And make sure we are not disturbed while he's here."

Shizune bowed in silence before her head disappeared and she re-closed the door. Tsunade focused on Sasuke once more, eyeing him seriously.

"And you need to get your shit together," she said to him, sternly. "You are allowed to be emotional, of course, but putting yourself through unnecessary stress is just not worth it. You have that baby to think about, so you should just calm down and let whatever has to happen, happen. That kid is crazy about you, so no matter what, I know it's going to be alright, yes?"

"Yes," Sasuke muttered under his breath, a proud, yet grateful look lighting up his eyes. "Thank you so much, Hokage-sama."

She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Our meeting for tomorrow still stands."

He made an acquiescent sound and bowed down gracefully before turning around to leave.

Once Tsunade was on her own, she huffed and rummaged through the drawer under her desk, taking out a small bottle of Sake and a tiny ceramic cup. She wasn't going to deny herself the little indulgence before having to deal with his favorite Shinobi. She couldn't wait to just get it over with.

oOo

Sasuke was on his knees, sitting on his heels as stared at his older brother's grave. On its left was Uchiha Fugaku's, followed by Uchiha Mikoto's. Graves from all the other Uchiha that had been massacred surrounded him in that particular side of Konoha's graveyard, and even though Sasuke would sometimes walk by all of them to pay his silent respects, this time, he had just wanted to visit his family.

His eyes stared at the grave, where only his brother's name, date of birth and of passing away could be seen. It wasn't like he could have ordered for something else to be written there, because, really, what could he say about Itachi? His memories contained either wonderful or horrible images of him, and Sasuke didn't really know which of them were real, which belong to the real Itachi. It had been painful for him to realize that he might've never really known him at all.

Not that it mattered now, anyway, Sasuke reasoned, munching on a bar of dark chocolate.

Someone entered the graveyard grounds, the chakra so powerful and familiar that made Sasuke's stomach flutter for a second. The person was running now, coming closer, towards him, and he all but breathed in deeply through his nose, the chocolate becoming sour in his mouth.

Finally, the person stopped next to him and immediately sat down (more like collapsed) at his left side, close but not enough to touch, panting in such so loudly that it made Sasuke feel tired.

"Sasuke..." Naruto's voice was ragged and he tried to steady his breathing. "I've been looking all over for you."

Sasuke swallowed the bit of chocolate in his mouth forcefully before answering. "I know."

His heart was beating loudly in his ears, the light nervousness of expectance making him feel slightly dizzy, so he just took another bite of chocolate, hoping that it would somehow help him to control his uneven blood pressure, his eyes never leaving Itachi's grave.

Naruto was silent for a while.

"Were you hiding from me?" the blond whispered, after a while, once he regained his composure as much as he could. He sounded hesitant, careful, and once more, Sasuke took a few seconds to answer.

"Why would I ever do that?" he mumbled, licking his lips from the excess of chocolate.

Naruto sighed.

"I was wondering about the same thing." he admitted.

Sasuke didn't answer. Naruto's eyes were glued to his profile; he could feel them, like fingers probing at his temple, begging for attention, and they felt eager, scared, confused. Naruto's energy was all over the place, wild and fiery as usual, but it felt reassuring in an odd way.

"Why did you bury him here, in Konoha? And next to your parents, too..." Naruto inquired in a soft, cautious tone.

"Because he is an Uchiha," Sasuke replied with more conviction than he felt, lowering the chocolate bar, his eyes focusing on Itachi's name engraved on the stony surface. "And he's family. _My_ family. I don't know why he did what he did, but he was...at some point...he was very important to me."

All of a sudden, Naruto's breathing shook and he started to sob, the sound echoing in Sasuke's ears as loudly as a thunder's. His head snapped to the side before he could stop himself, and what he saw made his heart sink, because Naruto's had his eyes buried in the crook of his arm and his body was shaking.

Oh, fucking hell.

"Why are you crying, you idiot?" Sasuke snapped irritably, annoyed that he had to feel pained and guilty for his lover's tears. "I can't deal with you crying, right now!"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Naruto snapped back, lowering his arm and exposing his eyes, which seemed almost luminous from the tears filling them and flowing down his cheeks freely. "I was planning on being all manly and heroic, but when I looked at you, I just..." he sniffed, wiping his runny nose on the black sleeve of his Jounin attire, causing Sasuke to frown in disgust.

"If you don't stop crying, right now, I'm leaving," he said coolly, shifting uncomfortably.

"Please, don't," Naruto said, placing his hand over Sasuke's arm, as if scared that he might really leave. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm feeling right now, I just...pretend I'm not crying at all, okay?"

"How am I supposed to do that, you fucking moron?" Sasuke hissed, throwing a look at him and feeling even worse at seeing Naruto's terrible attempt at seriousness. "I knew this was a bad idea..."

"It's not!" Naruto assured, gripping Sasuke's arm firmly and using his free hand to rub the tears away from his face as he frowned, clearly angry at himself. "Just give me a break, okay? You know me, how did you expect me to react?"

"You could've cried _before_ coming to see me, for example." Sasuke said, rolling his eyes and swallowing hard, before bringing the chocolate to him mouth, to keep it occupied.

"I did," Naruto, replied, looking pathetic. "But I couldn't help it. You've been in that damned coma for so long, and I was so worried…even after knowing you were out of the hospital I went home only to find you sleeping again, and then Baa-chan tells me all these things and I…seeing you up and about after a week of emotional chaos is just overwhelming, that's all."

Sasuke looked at him sideways and bit his lip, trying not to get pulled into that emotional stream that Naruto provided, even though he felt very compelled to do so. He had wanted to see him so much, had wanted to feel his presence, and there he was, just being his usual self, and even though it was awkward, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to dramatize things like he had when he had been by himself. Just having Naruto by his side made it all seem better.

They stared at each other in silence. Naruto's eyes were still watery, but he seemed to have managed to stop those annoying tears. Sasuke's heart was beating fast, and his lover's hand on his arm felt so incredibly good it was breathtaking. There were a lot of things being said without words, but what really mattered to Sasuke, was that there wasn't disgust in those expressive eyes – Naruto was simply looking at him like he always did, with that open longing and affection, and that was all it took for Sasuke to feel sane.

"Are you eating…chocolate?" Naruto inquired softly, making Sasuke nod almost imperceptivity.

"You want some?"

Naruto smiled more openly.

"Sure."

Sasuke passed him the little chocolate that was left and the blond took it, being careful to grab the part where it was still covered by the wrapping before taking a bite. Almost mesmerized, Sasuke watched him eat as he chewed on his lower lip. Once he had finished it, he crumbled the wrapping in his hand and shoved it in the pocket of his green vest. There was dot of chocolate on the corner of his mouth, so Sasuke twisted his body a bit to face Naruto's and reached out to rub it off cautiously with his thumb, making Naruto turn his head slightly to the side and kiss the digit almost reverently.

A weird lightheadedness took over Sasuke. His heart fluttered pleasantly in his chest, sudden need and desire filling him from head to toe. There was only time for him to take a breath before Naruto leaned in and their mouths collided, and it was like everything blurred into nothingness and only they existed in the world.

The kiss tasted bittersweet for so many reasons, the flavor of the sourness of the chocolate mingling between them. Naruto's hands rubbed his upper arms soothingly before he pulled him in to hug his neck, and since the position was uncomfortable, Sasuke all but supported his hands on his boyfriend's crossed legs, fists clenching around the fabric as he parted his lips more to taste more of Naruto, to grant that amazing, familiar tongue entrance. It seemed like ages had gone by since they had last done this. The contact, the sheer energy Naruto gave him was intense and fulfilling – it made him feel almost healthy, normal. The closeness made him feel exactly how powerfully the seal – the living being inside him – was absolutely thirsty for chakra, sucking on Naruto's for all it was worth. He had felt it when Tsunade had checked him, but somehow, the way it seemed to pull Naruto's was almost surreal, and it was different, Sasuke could feel it in his very existence.

Even in that Naruto was special.

Naruto whimpered a bit, probably feeling that intense absorption and tried to pull Sasuke even closer, as if realizing what his own body was doing to his lover's.

They kissed in that eager, voracious way that was theirs alone for what seemed like hours, both relishing in each other, conveying to each other all those repressed emotions that neither seemed to be able to express with words.

After a while, they broke the kiss, foreheads joined while they caught their breaths. The sun was beginning to set on the horizon, the wind becoming colder with the approaching night.

"Fuck, Sasuke…" Naruto whispered, rubbing his neck affectionately, even if his hands were trembling. "Is this it? It's pretty amazing. I had noticed that it was acting weird for a while, but it feels different now. So strong…"

Sasuke nodded silently, keeping his eyes closed.

"I think…it knows it's you," he mumbled, feeling shy all of a sudden. "Or maybe it feels that your chakra is stronger, but there is definitely a difference in the way it pulls you."

Naruto let out a tiny chuckle before pressing his lips to Sasuke's forehead and pushing him away lightly to look at him. Dark orbs were revealed to look at sapphire ones.

"Baa-chan didn't tell me anything about what you want to do…about _it_," he said, choosing his words carefully. "Do you want to talk, or…"

"I'm keeping it," Sasuke said, feeling his cheeks burn in embarrassment and lowering his eyes. He felt Naruto tense for just a moment.

"Okay," he said, in a serious, but slightly taken aback tone. "Why?"

Sasuke looked back at him.

"Are you sure you need an answer to that, Naruto?" he muttered, hoping that Naruto understood what he was trying to express. Naruto's eyebrows rose at that and he smiled bitterly, many different emotions showing on his face.

"No, I guess not," was all he said, his hands falling to grab hold of both of Sasuke's. "Am I allowed to say that I'm glad, in a way? I feel like I shouldn't be, considering everything, but I guess that, no matter what you chose to do, there would always be a 'but'."

"There is a 'but'," Sasuke said, squeezing Naruto's hands in his, "In fact, there are many 'buts'."

"I know," Naruto mumbled, heaving a long, shaky sigh. "I know, Sasuke. But it's ours. If we can go through this and be successful, it'll all be worth it, right?"

"Naruto," Sasuke called out gently, wetting his lips, feeling suddenly distraught, too overcome by his best friend's presence and that suffocating perfection that was everything they were, in its own, twisted way. "This is what I want to do, and I'll do whatever it takes to make it happen. No matter what happens to me, I'll go through with it, to the very end. But…things will change. We…I don't know what's going to happen from now on."

The younger of the two shook his head from side to side, his eyes shining, dangerously close to overflowing again, understanding the meaning of Sasuke's words.

"I'll be right beside you," he blurted out, with conviction. "I don't care about anything else right now, and if that damned woman thinks she can take you away from me, she's in for a surprise, because I'm not going anywhere."

Sasuke actually found himself smiling.

"That's not how things work," he said.

"Yes, it is," Naruto insisted, stubbornly. "This is all her fault, so she has to make it right."

Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say," he muttered, tiredly. "I'll have to go see her anyway, and we'll only know when we get there. There is no point thinking about it now."

Naruto released one of his hands and cupped his cheek, his eyes firm and resolute. "I'll be right beside you," he repeated. "I will follow after you to the end of the world if I have to. No matter what happens, I'm here for you, and for that little thing that we have created. We'll be a family and everything will be fine. I just know it."

Sasuke smiled openly, unable to stop it. Just like he had expected, Naruto was always the positive one, always capable of seeing the bright side of everything, always sure that things would go his way. There were so many things wrong with his determination, but Naruto was a strong, reliable – albeit clumsily so – person, and Sasuke wouldn't know how to deal with him if he was any different.

Just by existing, Naruto made everything seem possible, and just for a moment, Sasuke was very much seduced into believing it. Even if for only for a little while, it felt right to imagine that it would all end up well, even if a part of him – a more rational one – told him that it was nothing but a futile dream. Knowing Naruto the way he did, the blonde knew it, too, but it wasn't like him to just go down without a fight. And that was comforting enough, and more than Sasuke could've asked for.

Naruto's fingers trailed over his cheek in a delicate caress before grabbing for his chin and pulling him close for a light kiss.

"I would've supported whatever decision you made," he whispered, against Sasuke's lips. "But I'm really glad that you have chosen to keep it. I can't tell how happy it makes me. I want it so badly you have no idea. So, thank you." Sasuke felt his throat run dry and his breath catch as Naruto proceeded. "And I know we're young and everything, but we'll see the end of this, and it'll be fine, no matter how, or where. You'll be fine, I promise."

Sasuke inhaled deeply, catching whiff of Naruto's familiar, welcoming scent.

He would agree with Naruto, for now, because it was no use arguing over things that hadn't happened yet. However, the path Sasuke had chosen was, unfortunately, his own to follow, and he was sure that Naruto wouldn't be allowed in it. In fact, he would never let Naruto throw his life away, not even for this. It was enough that Sasuke himself had to give up on so much already.

"Okay," he nodded, pecking Naruto's lips once, gently. "As long as you don't cry anymore."

"I can cry as much as I want," Naruto protested. "And I will, as many times as I have to."

"Whatever," Sasuke snorted. "Crybaby. You're such an emotive soul it's almost pitiful. You suck as a comforting shoulder, just so you know."

"Pff, shut up, you should see the look on your face sometimes," he accused, grinning cockishly. "I don't even know what to do with myself, let alone what to do with you. At least if you cried I'd just hug you and pat your back condescendingly, but you just have to always be a composed, stuck up bastard, don't you?"

"That's me," Sasuke said, making a displeased face. "Thank the gods, because both me crying and you patting my back condescendingly are a vision of hell, as far as I'm concerned."

Letting out a loud, but clearly forced laugh, Naruto rubbed at his eyes before getting up a little recklessly, and Sasuke watched his movements as if they were something out of this world. For Sasuke, they sure were. Somehow, he felt like he should just do as Tsunade had told him and take advantage of every second with his best friend, and he wanted to do just that and take as much as he could. He felt like he could swallow him up.

"Let's go home," Naruto said, flashing him the brightest, most beautiful smile ever and stretching his hand out to him. "I miss you. I can't wait to take care of you and fuss all over you for the first time ever without you trying to kill me."

Sasuke smirked a bit. "For the first time ever, I don't feel like killing you, so yeah, that might be nice." He grabbed Naruto's hand, letting his voice lower. "I miss you, too."

Naruto pulled him to his feet before bending over to grab for Sasuke's bag of snacks, rummaging through it and taking out an _O'Nigiri_. When he extended it to him, the Uchiha accepted it and unwrapped it, not even having noticed that he was feeling hungry as hell again. Apparently, Naruto could read him better than he had thought.

With his free hand, Naruto grabbed hold of Sasuke's own free one and turned to the graves in front of him before bowing down reverently.

"You don't have to worry about him," he said politely, talking to the stony surfaces. "Because I'll take good care of him. I know that we're both guys and all that, but we care for each other, so I hope that you can still give us your blessing. Even though I got him pregnant, I do respect him so…I just wanted you to know that."

Raising one eyebrow at him, Sasuke all but sighed in fake annoyance and bowed down, as well. Naruto was such an idiot sometimes, and what's worse, the Uchiha actually enjoyed his random moments of sheer stupidity.

Hand in hand, they made their way out of the graveyard, both knowing that they were heading towards the last peaceful night they would have in a while, because the next would day would force them both to start moving towards an uncertain future.

Sasuke munched on his _O'Nigiri, _his stomach reveling in gratitude, but his mouth not able to truly enjoy it.

For now, all that mattered was that they were together, and that they were fine enough. There were many things left unsaid, and they were both experiencing too many feelings to fully rationalize the situation they were in. However, the important thing, for the time being, was they mutual understanding of each other, how they felt for each other and for what was happening to them, and for now, that seemed to work out just fine.

"Naruto?" Sasuke said softly, looking at his lover's profile, once they had entered the well-known path that would lead them to Sasuke's apartment. "Thank _you_."

Naruto's shoulders tensed and he bit his lip before turning his face to the side so Sasuke couldn't see it.

Sasuke intertwined their fingers and looked at the streets in front of him, feeling that sense of bittersweet happiness that seemed to stab his heart more times than what what should be allowed.

It would have to be enough, for now.

TBC…

* * *

**A/N 2****ND****: **The next chapter will be moving pretty fast, but it will be all on Naruto's POV. I'm sure you all want to know what he _really_ thinks about this, and about his friends not having said a word to him about Sasuke's situation. Also…dundunduuuun…characters we haven't seen in a while will finally make an appearance. Can you guess which? Hehe.

And yes, even though Naruto gets to know about the pregnancy, I did mean it when I mentioned that things wouldn't look good for them. Also, my little Sasuke-chan is being a pain in the ass and keeps surprising me at the most inconvenient moments. Asshole.

You guys must understand that ever since I started this story with "The Longest Line" I have had the whole thing thought out in my head, from the very beginning, and if I change something about it, it'll be a mess inside my own head, so I have to be faithful to it to the very end.

If I have made you enjoy it for almost three years up until this moment, you just have to trust me and believe that I will make it worth your reading time.

**Don't forget to review! Constructive criticism is really wonderful. You guys make my day ;)**

**See ya soon!**


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